Akiko's Story
by Cassakane
Summary: Akiko has a new manager and she hates him! But he has a secret thing for her? Maybe she can use the opportunity to get a taste of what all the other women talk about. I modeled Jomei's appearance after Keisuke in Liar! Office Deception. You can find a pic here if you're interested:
1. Chapter 1 - The New Manager

(Monday, April 30)

There was a rustling and a murmuring at the desks around me and I looked up with a frown to see what was going on.  
"Good morning, Ms. Mihara," Akio Kodama called with a cheesy smile on his face, ever the suck-up.  
I looked over to see the president of The Ichikiwa Design Group, Hana Mihara, entering the room followed by a man who looked to be in his late twenties. I examined him carefully, he was one of those men who was extra pretty. He looked like he spent too much money on fashionable clothes and at a fancy salon getting his maple syrup colored hair styled. He was just the sort of person that I liked to avoid.  
"If I could have everyone's attention," Ms. Mihara called out. "I'd like to make an announcement." All noise in the office stopped as everyone focused their attention on Ms. Mihara. "I am very sorry to say that Tsuchida turned in her resignation over the weekend, effective immediately."  
The room filled with exclamations and gasps as everyone around me reacted with shock. I wasn't surprised myself, Tsuchida had always been flighty. She was just the sort of dimwit to abandon her job as the Purchasing Manager without a backward glance.  
"It really isn't my place to speak of Tsuchida's personal life," Ms. Mihara was saying. "But since everyone is so concerned, I will tell you that she met a man on a matchmaking app who lives on Okinawa. Apparently, things went very well when they met in person and she packed up and moved in with him."  
I felt anger crawl up my spine, but I held it in. What infuriatingly irresponsible behavior! My coworkers were making little comments as if they thought it was romantic and she was lucky, when she was just plain stupid. Dump an excellent job to go and live with a man that you just met? That isn't a love story, it's the beginning of a movie about a woman who finds out that her new husband has a bunch of bodies in the basement. But no one would appreciate my words of wisdom, so I kept my mouth shut.  
"And so, I am pleased to introduce you to Jomei Date. He's going to be our new Purchasing Manager starting today!"

I blinked as everyone around me erupted in surprise and began greeting Date. This could not be possible! Tsuchida was barely out the door and they'd already replaced her? Without announcing the opening and conducting interviews? They'd given the job to a stranger, when it should have been _mine_!  
I'd worked in Purchasing for eight years! I'd carried Tsuchida through the past four years and the entire department, too! Ms. Mihara should be coming over here and handing _me_ the job without bothering to look at other candidates. She should not be walking in here with an outsider and putting him in charge of us. Of _me_!  
I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. It would not do to throw a fit in front of Ms. Mihari and the fancy pantsed Jomei Date. He'd obviously been hired because of his looks. He was the type who breezed through life because he was pretty and always said the right thing. People like that made me sick. Who would have guessed that Ms. Mihara would have fallen for those looks. She was old enough to be his mother. What was she doing, looking for a boytoy?  
"Akiko! Please come over here and let me introduce you to Date," Ms. Mihara called.  
I reined in my temper before pushing myself up from my chair and walking over to stand with the two of them. They were all smiles. I wasn't.  
"Date, this is Akiko Sera. She is the rock of the Purchasing Department. Anything you need to know, she's the one to ask," she said happily. "Akiko, I know that I can depend upon you to help get Date settled in as quickly as possible."  
"I can do that," I said seriously, turning to look Date in the eye with an unwavering stare. "Welcome to Purchasing."  
His cheeks flushed and he fidgeted a bit as he looked at me. I get that sort of reaction a lot. People just don't know how to react to someone as straightforward as I am, but it was disgusting to see it in someone who was going to be my boss.  
"It's nice to meet you, Akiko. I'm looking forward to working with you." He managed to pull himself together and give me a winning smile. '_Sorry, pal. Your good looks aren't going to win _me _over_.'  
"Yes," I said and turned around to walk back to my desk. I'd wasted enough time on this little meet and greet.  
Behind me, I could hear Ms. Mihara saying, "Oh, she's always like that. You'll get used to her. She's crucial to this department, everyone learns to work with her after a while."  
I sat down and pulled a stack of order forms towards myself. It was funny to think of Jomei Date having to get used to working with me. He was the sort that everyone else was going to bend over backwards for just because he looked cool. The type who was used to having his path strewn with rose petals.  
Working with me would probably be a big shock for him. He'd stolen my job and I wasn't going to pull any punches.

(Later That Evening)

That evening I sat at a long table with the rest of the Purchasing Department at the customary dinner to greet our new boss. Date was sitting at the head of the table, cheeks flushed and laughing as my coworkers chatted excitedly with him and everyone drank too much.  
Except me. I wasn't drinking at all. I was keeping an eye on Date, gleaning every bit of information that I could about him. So far I had learned that he didn't have a girlfriend, had graduated from an excellent university, enjoyed playing golf and soccer, preferred Japanese food to foreign food, and he hadn't yet seen the latest Marvel movie.  
He also didn't seem to mind that nearly every female at the table was flirting with him. He never failed to respond to their silly questions and comments with a good natured reply. It was sickening to see how fake everyone was being. They didn't know a thing about this man except that he was our boss and he spent too much time styling his hair each morning, but they were slathering themselves all over him like dogs begging for approval.  
"Okemi! Did you take off your engagement ring?!" I yelled as she leaned halfway down the table to clink glasses with Date. "What would your fiance think if he knew?!"  
"Stop it, Akiko! This isn't any of your business," Okemi said defensively and sat back down in her seat with a huff. "I just put it in my purse because I don't want to lose it if I get drunk."  
"Alcohol causes swelling. It doesn't make your fingers shrink. So, you should feel free to put your ring back on. You're not going to lose it," I barked.  
Okemi huffed again, rolled her eyes and turned to talk to someone else. I looked up to see Date looking between the two of us. When his eyes glanced back to me, I stared right back at him. He flushed pink and reached to take another drink of beer.  
'_Weakling_.'

(Wednesday, May 16)

"Yes, I can hold." I was on the phone with a tile supplier. At times like this, when my eyes were free to wander around the office, I always took a moment to check out what Date was doing. My desk was situated so that my back was to him, but on the wall opposite my desk and down about a yard to the right, there was a large mirror mounted behind the office coffee station. If I pushed my chair back a few inches I had a perfect view of Date through the mirror, and no one could even tell that I was spying on him.  
Not that there was a lot to see. He basically cycled through a short list of time wasting activities: shuffling papers, doing something on his computer, running his fingers through his hair, wandering around chatting with people in the office, or talking to people who stopped by to chat with him at his desk. He always talked about soccer games, movies, the weather - in short, useless small talk. If someone had an important question or needed help of any kind, they came to me.  
As I spoke to someone about the tile shipment, Kodama came over to my desk and stood waiting quietly for me to get off the phone. Through the mirror, I could see Date noticing this. His eyes narrowed and a little frown crossed his face. Grabbing some papers off of his desk, he stood up and left my field of vision.  
When I hung up the phone and turned to look up at Kodama, I noticed that Date was at the copier, which put him in the perfect spot to eavesdrop on me. _The sneaky bastard_.  
"What do you want?" I asked Kodama, keeping an eye on Date who was obviously wasting company resources by making a bunch of unnecessary copies to cover up his spying.  
"Team 3 is trying to do some weird new thing with their ordering and I have no idea how to handle it," Kodama whined like a little girl.  
"Let me see," I barked, taking the papers he held from his hands and skimming over the order forms.  
"This doesn't follow standards," I said. "But it looks like it will work. I'll have to go to their office and talk to them in person and probably contact the vendors. If they don't have a good reason for doing it this way, they'll have to change it. We don't need them making more work for us just because they want to get creative."  
"Okay, thanks," Kodama replied and headed back to his desk, happy as hell that his incompetence had gotten him out of a little work.  
I looked up to see Date staring at me. When our eyes met, I hardened my gaze and lowered my eyebrows. He gave a little start, flushed pink and scampered back to his seat. I looked up in the mirror to see his reflection fidgeting nervously with the things on his desk.  
They might as well have put a twelve-year-old girl in charge of our department.

(Tuesday, May 22)

"… and you're not going to weasel your way out of this with lies or excuses!" I shouted into the phone, looking up and noticing that Date had entered the office and was staring at me with a stupid look on his face. "It's due tomorrow! You signed a contract stating it will be delivered on time and you _will_ follow through! I am not going to accept any of your pathetic attempts at explaining this away! I don't care if the power was out and the computers were down! It is _your_ responsibility to follow through with your contract _to the letter_. I expect delivery tomorrow, _as promised_!"  
I slammed the phone down, panting a little because I'd gotten worked up, and looked over to see that Date hadn't gone to take a seat at his desk. He was skulking around the office like he didn't know what his job was. I shot him an angry look – I was already angry, might as well make some use of the leftovers – and went back to checking over the requisition form that was on my desk.  
"Uh, Sera..."  
Spinning around in my chair, I looked up to see Date standing next to my station. "What?!" I demanded. I just knew that he was going to ask me what he was supposed to do next. '_Stupid man_…'  
"It's a real problem that you're talking to vendors like that. I'm having trouble believing that this hasn't been addressed before. I'll take the time to look through your file and discuss this again later if necessary, but for now, just know that speaking like that to anyone during work hours is unacceptable," he lectured, his spine rigid as he tried to come off as confident.  
"What are you talking about?" I barked. Had this man lost his mind? Was I going to be expected to carry an incompetent fool who was also out of touch with reality? I put my pencil down before I snapped it between my fingers.  
His pretty eyebrows raised in surprise. He must get them waxed. '_How metrosexual can you get, Date?'  
_ "The conversation that you just had on the phone?" he said as if maybe I was the one that was losing my mind. "You were yelling at a vendor because they aren't going to make their deadline?"  
"Ha! That's a laugh. I wasn't yelling at a vendor. I was yelling at my niece," I explained. "My brother has me yell at his kids about their homework and grades. Next time, ask a few questions before you start reprimanding an employee. You're wasting company time."  
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that, but next time please make personal calls during your own time," he said, making his voice extra firm like that was going to scare me into following his orders.  
"I'm working through my break and just took a couple of minutes to make the call. Of course, now I've taken several minutes to deal with this," I snapped, and spun back around to my desk to focus on the requisition form. After a moment, I heard his footsteps walking away and I looked up at the mirror behind the coffee pot and saw him taking a seat at his desk.  
'_Only two more hours of pretending to work before you can go home and buff your nails, Date.'_

(Friday, June 1)

I was sorting through invoices when a movement caught my eye and I looked up to see Kodama walked past my desk on the way to talk to Date. I moved into position to get a good look at the reflection in the mirror behind the coffee pot in time to see Kodama stepping up to Date's desk.  
"Hey, Mr. Date," he said. "You don't look so good. Have you been working late?"  
I perked my ears up and narrowed my eyes. I knew that Date wasn't working late, there was no sense sitting around after hours pretending to work if no one was around to be your audience. I'd noticed that Date looked a little off, but I'd figured that he'd probably just run out of foundation.  
"Yeah, well, I've been having trouble sleeping," Date said with an exhausted sigh.  
"What really? Is the job too stressful?" Kodama asked. '_Please, Kodama, let's not pretend that a dead squirrel couldn't do the job just as well. There is no stress involved in a job that you aren't actually doing.'  
_ "No," Date answered. "I've...been having nightmares."  
"Nightmares? What...wait. About her?" Kodama's voice was surprised.  
I froze as I saw through the mirror that they were looking at the back of my head. Without moving my head a millimeter, I looked right and then left, but no one else was aware of the conversation going on over at Date's desk. I'd always had hearing that was practically superhuman.  
"It's destroying me," Date said.  
Kodama laughed. "Seriously, Mr. Date. You need to put that woman in her place. You can't let things get so bad that you're having nightmares and you can't even sleep."  
"Yeah," Date said weakly. "That's easier said than done."  
"_You're damned right_," I thought. '_Just let that fancy-ass bastard try to "put me in my place". He thinks he's having nightmares now? I haven't even begun to fight._' This was unbelievable. I hadn't even _done anything _yet and the man was already falling apart. How long could he last at his job if this was the sort of backbone that he had? He'd probably quit in no time at all and I'd be getting a promotion by the end of the summer.

(Wednesday, June 6)

"Sera, there's a problem with one of your accounts. We need to get down to the warehouse," Date called across the office.  
"Right," I said, putting my pencil down."Which one?"  
"Sunrise Salon."  
I opened a desk drawer and pulled out the file for the Sunrise Salon before getting up to follow him out of the room.  
"The stuff started arriving last week. For some reason, people have just been loading it into storage containers without checking the quantities. The numbers are all wrong," he explained as we got on the elevator on our way to the warehouse.  
When we arrived, Igarashi, the warehouse supervisor, met us at the door. He looked ready to blow his top. "We're doing this new autonomous teams thing in the warehouse," he said. "I'm supposed to just assign projects to teams and let them take full responsibility for it from beginning to end. This team made _a lot_ of mistakes. Look at this!"  
He handed me a stack of order forms that were related to the Sunrise Salon account. Every single one of them had coffee splattered on it, smearing the numbers.  
"How did _all_ of these papers get coffee on them like this? You would have to spread them all out and spray coffee in order for this to happen!" I was quickly joining Igarashi in the blow-your-top club.  
"Apparently they were playing some game while they had the forms on a table. Since the numbers are smudged, they didn't bother checking the orders when they came in. They just threw the stuff in the containers and assumed it would all be good," he answered in a disgusted voice.

Date and I followed Igarashi out to the storage containers where the supplies for Sunrise Salon were being held. The team was pulling everything out of the containers and doing an official count, counting everything at least twice.  
"Oh! I'm here!" A high pitched voice called, and I turned around to see Nanami Hokama running towards us waving some papers. She was the young designer in charge of the Sunrise Salon account and a member of Ebihara's team. She probably had a lot of hair and skin tips to share with Date, I'd have to make sure the two of them didn't get off track.  
"Okay," she said when she reached us. She stood up tall and threw her shoulders back, trying to show that she was competent and in charge. "I've got my copy of the order forms right here. I heard that something went wrong with the warehouse copies?"  
"They went wrong all right," I said. "But it still doesn't make sense. Just looking at this stuff you can see that the numbers are wrong. It looks like there are over 20 sinks, but only two chairs. How is it possible that orders to multiple vendors all got screwed up for the same account?"  
I pulled my copy of the order forms out of my folder and scanned them. "The numbers here make sense," I said. "I wouldn't have signed off on them otherwise."  
Hokama looked down at the papers in her hand and her face immediately flushed. "Well...that is strange," she stammered. "How could everything just...go wrong like that?"  
I snatched her papers out of her hand as she went to hide them behind her back. '_What is she, seven?'_ Looking them over, the mystery was immediately solved. "What did you do to these order forms?! Is this some kind of a joke?! These numbers are _insane!_ How is it possible that forms like this even exist?!" I yelled at her. "You had the right numbers, I've got copies to prove it! So why are you carrying around fucked up forms?! You sent these _to the vendors?!_"  
"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I was having a really really bad day because my heart got broken! I was just totally blinded and I wrote the numbers down all crazy! I totally fixed it, _you've_ got the right numbers, but I must have accidentally kept the wrong forms and sent them to the vendors!"  
"Are you _insane and incompetent_?" I yelled. "You let something ridiculous like a crush get in the way of your job? You've made a mess with _multiple_ vendors _and_ you put the deadline for Sunrise Salon in jeopardy! You've damaged the reputation of the entire company! _This_ is why designers shouldn't be allowed to send orders directly to vendors! It doesn't matter if I check off on the numbers if the designer fucks up like this!"  
"You heartless monster!" Hokama yelled back at me. She was crying prettily, it looked like she'd spent hours purposefully crying in front of a mirror to practice her technique. "You just have no idea what it's like to be in love! You aren't even _capable_ of feeling love! Any real woman would totally understand where I'm coming from!"  
The anger that I was feeling about the mistake with the order forms skyrocketed as she said such nasty things to me. I felt like I was going to explode. "_What?! Don't even try_-"  
A hand fell on my arm and started pulling me away. I looked up to see Date, grim-faced, pulling me towards a gap between two storage containers several yards away. Despite my telling him to stop several times, he continued tugging on my arm until we ran into the fence that was behind the containers.

"Try to calm down," he said, using a soothing voice. "You don't want to say anything that you'll regret later."  
"_Me_ say anything that I'll regret later?! _She_ thinks she can say whatever she wants to me just because she spends too much time in front of a mirror! She has no right to talk to me like that! Just because I don't get a crush on every guy that walks by, and just because I haven't met the one man in the world that is my perfect match, does _not_ mean that I'm not capable of love!" I shouted.  
"Okay, okay. I know," Date said. "You're right. Hokama's on the attack because she feels vulnerable. But it isn't good to yell at her like that, it isn't helping to solve the problem. It's best for us to stay calm and work out what needs to be done to fix this mistake and get everything back on schedule. Ebihara will take care of reprimanding Hokama."  
I took a deep breath and felt myself calming down. He was right. It was pathetic that Date had to tell me how to behave. "My temper has always been a problem. Thank you for interfering," I said.  
"No problem," Date said. "I've got to look out for you. You're my best team member. Now, what is our plan of attack for this situation? We need to divide up the work and get moving on this."  
"Right," I said. "First we need to make more copies of the correct forms and distribute them to the warehouse team…"  
As I continued to go over my plan, I watched Date. At first he was listening to me closely, but soon his eyes began to dart around, his cheeks flushed pink and he began to shift back and forth, from one foot to the other. Did he have to go to the bathroom? Did he have ADD?  
"Ah, okay," he interrupted me. "That all sounds great to start. Let's go back out and continue talking about this."  
"Are you okay?" I asked, staring him up and down.  
"Yeah," he said. "I...uh...just don't like closed in spaces."  
I looked at the area between the fence and the backs of the storage containers. It was wider than a hallway and open to the sky. If he thought this was too closed, how did he manage in small rooms? It must kill him to go to the bathroom.

(Tuesday, June 12)

"Sera?" I spun around in my chair to see Date standing behind my work station.  
"Yes," I said, only narrowing my eyes at him a little. He'd helped me out with the Sunrise Salon issue. I was going to go easier on him for a while, or until he pissed me off again.  
"Do you think you could stay for a few minutes after work and talk to me?" he asked.  
"Yes. I think I can," I said. Most of the office had already left for the day and the few people who remained were preparing to leave. I decided not to penalize him for making his request at the last minute. "This should only take a few more minutes and then I'll be available."  
I spun back around to my desk to finish sorting through a stack of invoices. I heard Date pull a chair over and take a seat to wait for me. After I'd finished with the invoices and put them away, I spun back around to face him. "Let's start talking now."  
"Okay," he said. I saw him take a breath. I wondered how many times he'd practiced this conversation. "There are two things that I want to accomplish. First of all, too much of the knowledge for our department is in your head. There are far too many things that only you know how to do. This means that you are overworked and most of the other employees are just skating by."  
"This is true," I replied. Too much crucial knowledge was locked in my brain. What if I were to get into a car accident? Purchasing would shut down and then the company would go out of business. Everyone would lose their jobs.  
"This department needs proper work instructions for each task, so that everyone can easily take care of their responsibilities. But I also want to do something else. It is very strange that Ms. Mihara insists that everything be done on paper. Everything needs to be transitioned to a computer program. People should be working with tablets and computers, not pencil and paper. I have decent programming skills and I noticed that you even have a couple of certifications. I think that while we make work instructions, we should also start building a program to handle all of the ordering, inventory and accounting," he explained.  
"Ms. Mihara has always fought every effort to make this a paperless company," I said. "We would be wasting our time."  
"Except, we've enrolled for two stalls in the Interior Fashion Trends Convention at the end of March. The theme is going to be Greener Today, Greener Tomorrow," he said. "If we can get this done before then, having a paperless system to add to our showcase at the convention might be the motivation that Ms. Mihara needs to make the right decision."  
"And if we do it, it won't be necessary for her to hire a company to do it. We can just present what we've done and she can take it or leave it. No money lost," I said, my mind turning the idea over.  
"Exactly," he said. "The real issue is time. You're already swamped. I was thinking that maybe we can start working some overtime, getting stuff out of your head, writing work instructions and programming. It'll be a lot of work, but as we write those work instructions we can transfer some of your work to other team members. It'll be quite the challenge. Are you interested?"  
No one ever said that Akiko Sera was afraid of hard work. "Yes, I am. When do you want to start?"  
"Tomorrow?"  
"Perfect."


	2. Chapter 2 - Two Meals

(Wednesday, June 27)

"Okay," Date said. "I think this is a good place to stop for tonight." We'd just finished a short meeting to go over our progress and make some important decisions about the program we were working on.  
"Yes, we should stop. Tomorrow night we can stay a little longer," I said, thinking about the coding that I was going to be working on.  
"Do you want to go to dinner with me? Maybe some pizza or fried chicken?" he asked.  
"It's late to eat heavy food," I replied. "That would be a bad decision."  
"You have a good point. You can choose the restaurant if you'd like. I'm open to anything," he said.  
I stared at him as I paused to think. It was time that I tried to bury the hatchet with Date. We were working together on two important projects and continued animosity would hinder our efforts. It was not his fault that he had been given a manager's position that he was not qualified for.  
"Then let's eat soba," I said, grabbing my bag. "There's a good restaurant near here."

An hour later Date moaned and said, "We have to stop discussing work. We've spent the entire meal doing nothing but talking about programming."  
"We've made good progress. I've taken a lot of notes and will work on this as soon as possible," I said, tapping my cell phone.  
"And that's good, but I wanted to leave work at the office and have a relaxing meal," he said. "Do you drink?"  
"Of course I drink. Doesn't everyone?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "What kind of question is that?"  
"I- No- It's not any kind of question," he floundered for his words. As usual. "Just...would you like a drink?"  
I thought about it for a minute. "Yes, I would like one drink," I said when I had made my decision. "I'll take a beer."  
"Alright, then. Good," he said and waved the waiter over. He ordered himself a beer _and_ a shot of whiskey.  
"You aren't planning on getting drunk, are you?" I asked, staring at him to gauge his reaction. "I should not have to deal with a shitfaced boss."  
"No! I'm not going to get drunk," he sounded offended. "I'm stopping at two drinks. I just went ahead and ordered them at the same time."  
"That's efficient," I conceded the point with a nod. "I applaud your planning."  
"Yeah?" he said, giving me a curious look.  
"Yes, a person should know exactly how much they should drink in every situation and drink only to that amount," I instructed. "If everyone followed this rule, there would be fewer drinking related problems."  
"Is that what you do?" He grabbed the whiskey as soon as the waiter put it down and knocked it back.  
"Of course. One drink at times like this where it doesn't hurt to relax a little. Two drinks on livelier occasions where a bit more pep is allowed – office get-togethers, stopping in for a drink with my friends, things like that. Three drinks on really wild occasions – birthday parties, bar crawls, karaoke nights," I explained, taking a drink of my beer.  
"That makes a lot of sense," he said. "You always show a lot of control. I noticed that you didn't drink when everyone went out on the day that I started in Purchasing."  
"It makes no sense to drink in front of a new boss," I said firmly. I was not happy to be reminded of that day. "At a time like that you should be fully aware in order to present a good image of yourself and to garner information."  
"'Garner information'," he repeated thoughtfully. "You were watching me like a hawk that night."  
"You were really nervous," I said with a laugh. "It was fun to watch."  
"Well, it didn't help that one of the members of my team was staring at me like she'd like to stab me with a chopstick," he said, shaking his head. "But it was a weird day. I got the job very suddenly. In some ways I didn't feel prepared, not – _not_ – because I am in any way incompetent, but because things changed so quickly. I went from having a good job that I loved, to not having a job and worrying about how I was going to get by, and then suddenly having a great job."  
I studied him carefully. "How would it have been so much of a surprise? Had you fucked up the interview or something?"  
"No, there wasn't a typical interview. And I hadn't even applied for the job. Ebihara called me out of nowhere on a Sunday," he said, his voice vaguely reflecting the surprise and joy that he must have felt.  
"You didn't even apply?!" Anger was flashing through me. These pretty boys just had everything handed to them on a plate.  
"Yeah, actually...I was a manager at a small woodworking business and we used to work with Ebihara all the time. The owner got cancer and he decided that it wasn't worth it to him to keep the business going. He didn't even try to find a buyer for it, he just shut us down overnight and walked away. It was a real shock, everything had been going so well with the business, but it was his choice in the end," he shook his head sadly. "Ebihara contacted me and had me come in and talk to Hana because they'd had an unexpected opening. They also hired a few other people. And Ebihara used some of his connections to find jobs for even more people in other companies that he deals with. That guy is pretty amazing."  
"Yes, he is highly respected," I said, draining my beer. I couldn't decide how I felt about what he'd told me. Ebihara wouldn't have tried to help Date out unless he deserved it, and Hana wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't qualified, but he'd still gotten the job in a way that was totally nonstandard. A way that stole my opportunity for a promotion.

Date was nodding distractedly as if lost in thought.  
"I have finished my food and my beer. It is time to go home," I said.  
"Yeah, let me get this one," he said. When I started to protest, he interrupted me. "Just this one. You're putting in a lot of extra work in order to help straighten things out, and I really appreciate that."  
I let him pay and we walked outside.  
"Which station are you going to?" he asked.  
"JR," I said.  
"Then let's walk together. That's my station, too," he said. His voice was a little sad. Maybe two drinks was too much for him.  
"So, tell me," he said. "How is it that you ended up being the only one who knows how to do so many things in Purchasing?"  
"Incompetence and laziness," I said with a sigh. "Everyone is really quick to pass work over to someone else. To me, because I'm not afraid to take it. It doesn't make sense to run away from responsibilities. In the end it is always easier to just take care of something than it is to waste time avoiding it and cleaning up the fallout when it doesn't get done."  
"That's a great attitude. But it's not okay for you to be overburdened. I've got to work to spread that attitude to the rest of the department. People may want to avoid work, but that can't be allowed to happen," he said with conviction. "We'll get things straightened out and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy your job a little more."  
"Am I giving the impression that I don't enjoy my work?" I asked.  
"No, not exactly. I can see that you really enjoy tackling the challenges and you're great at that, but you do seem to get angry a lot," he said, his voice hesitant.  
"I just get angry," I said with a shrug. "It's my personality to be more serious about things than other people. But I cool off quickly, so it isn't so bad."  
"I see. That makes sense," he said, and indicated the station entrances in front of us. "Which way are you going?"  
"East," I said.  
"I'm headed west. Thanks for having dinner with me. It's nice not to eat alone sometimes," he said. There was a strange look in his eyes – a needy sadness? The poor guy was really too emotional.  
"Yeah, it was good," I said solidly, trying to show him how to use a little backbone. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Yeah, see you."  
I turned and walked away.

(Friday, July 13)

"Agh! Dammit!"  
I turned around to see Jomei standing in front of the copier, he'd cut his thumb. He was holding his hand out away from his body and staring at it as if he was afraid of the blood that was welling up from the cut and dripping down to the floor.  
"Hold still," I said, grabbing some tissues and moving to press them against his thumb. "We've got to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding."  
"Gah! That hurts," he complained.  
I looked at him assessingly. "Are you going to cry?"  
"No, I'm not going to cry! Why do you think I'm going to cry?"  
"You're in pain and you seem distressed."  
"Well, I am not going to cry."  
"Good. We should put this above your heart, it will help the bleeding to stop." I tried to raise his hand up, but he pushed it back down and out, away from his body.  
"Stop that," he snapped.  
"Why? We need to stop the bleeding."  
"I don't want blood to get on my clothes."  
"You shouldn't be worried about your clothes, you should be worried about losing your thumb."  
"I'm not going to lose my thumb and this suit was expensive."  
"I'll bet it was." I lifted the tissues and took a look at the cut. "The bleeding has stopped."  
"Thanks for helping," he said, studying his thumb. "It's Friday. We shouldn't stay too late. Do you want to get something to eat with me?"  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What would we eat? I don't want any shared dishes. You might get blood in the food."  
"You can choose the restaurant. I'll just go get cleaned up and we can go."  
"Fine. Be sure not to open that cut back up. I have a bandaid for you when you get back."

Thirty minutes later we walked into a fried chicken restaurant.  
"I thought you said you don't like to eat fried chicken late at night," Date said as we sat down at a table.  
"It's Friday. That is enough of an occasion to break a few rules," I replied.  
"So your rule is that you can bend the rules on Fridays? Maybe Saturdays too?" Date asked, his voice a little teasing.  
"Are you trying to analyze me?" I shot back, narrowing my eyes at him.  
"Ha! No," he said. "I am not trying to analyze you. I'm also not trying to garner information. I just want to relax and have a nice meal together because we work hard all the time. I think you should make this a two drink night. It's Friday after all."  
"I was already considering two drinks. I might as well," I said. "I'll be going for a run in the morning anyway."  
"Is that what you do on the weekends? Exercise?" he asked as the server put our food down in front of us.  
"I run each morning on the weekends. It is harder to fit it in before work on weekdays. Exercise is very important for health. It cannot be ignored."  
"I agree. I used to work out each evening after work, but with all of this overtime I've been slacking. We won't be doing this forever though. It won't be too long before I'm back to my old routine. What else do you do on your weekends?"  
I pushed away the hint of suspicion that he was asking too many questions. He was just trying to make conversation when we had nothing in common. We couldn't very well talk about our favorite skincare products.  
"After exercising, I clean on Saturdays and I visit my brother and his family on Sundays. Not this Sunday, though. They are going to visit his in-laws."  
"Ah, how old are your brother's children?"  
"My nephew is almost eleven and my niece is eight."  
"Is that your only niece?"  
"Yes, my brother is my only sibling."  
He coughed a little on his beer. He was probably more used to drinking girly drinks, but was trying to man up because he was around me. "That's… So, the niece that you were yelling at about contracts that time on the phone is eight years old?"  
"Yes. And my reprimand was effective. She turned in her report and received a 97%."  
"That's...uh...that's good."

He lapsed into silence. After a few minutes of silent eating, I decided to take control of the conversation. "Do you have any siblings?"  
"No. I'm an only child."  
"That explains a lot."  
"What does it explain?"  
"The hair."  
"My hair? What would a sibling have to do with my hair?"  
"Your mother had too much time to focus on you. She probably had a stylist give you fashionable haircuts and styled your hair for you each morning."  
He blinked at me. "That's true. She did do that until I was old enough to do it myself. Does your sibling explain your braids?"  
"Absolutely. My brother is eight years older than me and he never liked studying. As I was growing up, my mother had to lecture and nag him constantly so that he would take his grades seriously during middle and high school and even at university. I was left to manage my own hair. It did not take me long to learn that braids are the most efficient hair style. They keep your hair out of your face even when it is windy. When your hair is down, it can get tangly and messy throughout the day. That doesn't happen when your hair is in braids. Your hair is contained and controlled."  
"That...makes a lot of sense."  
"Of course it does. I have finished my food and my beers. I am ready to go home."  
"Wait. Come home with me tonight."  
"What? Why?"  
"I want to sleep with you. I want to have sex with you. And...come for the entire weekend. Come home with me for the weekend." His cheeks were flushed pink, but he was looking me in the eye when he spoke.  
"I'm not some convenient lay that you can take home with you just because I happen to be near you and you don't feel like going to a nightclub and putting forth the effort to pick up a girl who's had too much to drink to make good decisions and danced until she's too weak to fight you off."  
"I'm not looking for a 'convenient lay'. I want _you_. I've wanted you since the first day we met and it's been driving me crazy."  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't think you're telling the truth. I even heard you tell Kodama that you were having nightmares about me. Were you having nightmares about having sex with me?"  
"No. I was having _dreams_ about having sex with you and they were waking me up in the night - _a lot_ \- but I wasn't going to tell Kodama that. I still have those dreams all the time. It would be very helpful if you would just come home with me for the weekend and let me get you out of my system."  
"Well. Isn't that an irresistible proposition."  
He pushed his empty beer glass out of the way and leaned across the table to look me in the eye and speak in a hushed voice. "I am going to take you home and do absolutely everything that I can think of to give you pleasure. I will not stop until both of us are so tired that we can no longer move. Then we are going to sleep and wake up and I am going to start the process all over again. I will give you time to eat and I will give you time to sleep, but other than that every minute will be devoted to making you moan and cry out for more."  
"Alright."  
"Good," he said. "I am not going to let you change your mind."  
"We'll consider it a verbal contract."

(Later That Night)

Thirty minutes later we'd gotten off the train and were walking towards Date's apartment. We hadn't been talking, but Date had been holding my hand since we left the restaurant. It felt weird. I was not used to touching a man. I should not have agreed to go home with my boss, but he had presented a compelling argument and I was curious about the things that other women got to experience. The things that were normally out of my reach.  
I'd always known that I was different. I was not cute or pretty. Even if I wore the same clothes that other women wore, they never looked right on me. I didn't have the looks and I didn't have the free and easy personality that men were looking for. Men did not want to date me or spend time with me just for fun. They didn't even bother to look at me. My only chance to date and get married had always been to find my one perfect match. The one man who would have so much in common with me that he would immediately recognize all of my positive attributes. When I met that man, he would be just like me. We would think the same and feel the same and have the same plans for the future. Everything would fall into place just as soon as I met him.  
Date was obviously not him. Date was the opposite of my perfect match except for one thing: he wanted me sexually. For whatever reason, he wasn't seeing me the way that other men saw me - the way that everyone saw me - as unattractive and unsexy. He wanted me, even if he just wanted to get me out of his system. This was my chance, possibly the only one that I would get, to experience what my friends always talked about. I was a virgin in my thirties. I was alone most of the time and lonely, even if I tried to never think about it or admit it to myself. I wanted this chance - this _one_ chance - to have sex just like everyone else. To forget for a little while that I was Akiko Sera and I wasn't supposed to have what everyone else had. I could do that for just one weekend. It wouldn't do any harm.  
"This is taking too long. I live too far from the station," he said impatiently and pulled me into a little alcove that was hidden behind a bush. He pushed me up against a brick wall and put his hands on either side of me. He stared down at me with intense eyes.  
"You are not having sex with me outside behind a bush," I snapped and wondered if I had made the wrong decision. If Date was some sort of depraved sex fiend who had sex in public, I was going to have to back out of our agreement.  
He laughed. "Of course not. I'm going to kiss you for awhile and then take you inside for the sex."  
"That is acceptable." I puckered my lips to receive his kiss.  
"Huh," he muttered and rubbed his thumb over my mouth before bending down to press his lips against mine. Closing my eyes, I quickly analyzed his kiss. His lips were soft and warm, opening slightly and closing on my upper lip, before moving with more pressing and some tugging. It made my heart beat a little faster, and my back and cheeks became hot. I forgot to breathe for a moment.  
He stopped the kiss, pulling back and looking me in the eye. "Is this your first kiss?"  
"Yes," I said. "Don't worry. You're doing fine."  
He moved forward, resting his cheek against mine and whispering, "Then you're all mine."  
"Just for the weekend," I reminded him.  
"For the weekend," he agreed. Pulling back again and looking down at me, searching my eyes before his gaze fell to my lips.  
"Are you going to kiss me again?"  
"Yes."  
I puckered up again and closed my eyes, ready to try another kiss. He put his thumb on my lips and pushed on them like an elevator button. "Relax your lips. This is how you kiss a child, not a man."  
"Oh?" I felt a little skeptical. I had no idea how much kissing he had actually done.  
"Really," he said, his thumb massaging over my lips until they loosened up. "That's it. Just like that." His mouth settled on my upper lip again. He was right, it was better. His lips moved smoothly over mine, pushing and shaping, tugging and sucking. I could feel the moisture from the inside of his mouth, warm and wet. The heat from the first kiss returned and spread over my body. I was so focused on the movement of his mouth that I was forgetting about three out of every four breaths. That was most likely the reason that I felt as if my head were starting to spin.  
"Kiss me back," he said, his mouth still against mine. "Just suck on my lip a little." He moved so that his lower lip was between my lips and I did as he suggested, pulling the bit of flesh into my mouth and sucking on it. My tongue darted forward to lick over his lip and taste him. This caused a strong feeling to surge in my chest - almost as if my heart were straining - and my nipples began to buzz strangely within my bra.  
He pulled his lip from my mouth and I opened my eyes to stare at him angrily, not happy about that. But his eyes were warm and soft as he looked at me. "That was nice. Kissing you is very nice, Akiko."  
I raised my eyebrows in shock at his unauthorized use of my given name, but before I could question him he began kissing me again. This time, his lips were more forceful, pressing bolding against mine, sucking harder, his tongue even licked over my lips - and that made shivers go all down my spine. I felt his hand on my chin and he tugged it downward to get me to open my mouth.  
When I did, his tongue came inside and began fondling mine. At first the sensation was strange and unexpected but it quickly became exciting. It made my nipples buzz at an even greater intensity and made me feel breathless and my heart pound just like I had been running. I moved my own tongue and stroked it over his just like he was doing mine. He moaned into my mouth, the sound and feel of it making me want to push myself against him really hard.  
He pulled away. He was also feeling breathless. "Let's go to my apartment. I want to touch you."  
He took my hand again. This time it felt more right. "How far is your apartment?" I hadn't even wondered about the distance before, but now the answer seemed crucial. When we got there we could kiss again and he'd said that he was going to touch me. He would probably touch my nipples and it felt like they really needed it.  
"One block."  
In the elevator he took off his suit jacket and folded it neatly in half and lay it over his arm. He tugged his tie loose. I stared at the white expanse of his dress shirt. I wanted to rub it. I wanted to feel how warm it was. I blinked and faced forward, realizing that the kiss had scrambled my brain. But I was still going to rub his shirt as soon as we arrived at his apartment.  
When we finally stepped inside, he hung up his jacket and removed his tie while he kicked off his shoes. After removing my own navy blue blazer and shoes, I thought, '_What the hell'_ and began unbuttoning my shirt. My nipples were screaming to get out of my bra.  
"Yes," Date said when he saw me unbuttoning my shirt. He swatted my hands away and took over the job. He unfastened the buttons and opened my shirt to reveal my plain white bra. "Is this what you want?" he asked. He took one of my bra cups and tucked it under my breast, exposing my skin to the open air. He stroked his thumb over my nipple and it felt even better than I had anticipated. It caused sharp streaks of pleasure go through me that made me press myself into his hand. My breath froze in my throat and my knees threatened to buckle. Backing up clumsily, I leaned against the wall.  
He followed me closely. His fingers did not leave my breast and they did not stop rubbing my skin. "Anytime you want something, just tell me. If you want me to touch you or kiss you somewhere, tell me," he said, and kissed me again. His tongue pushed immediately into my mouth and searched for mine. I tried to remember to kiss him back. I wanted to stroke my tongue against his, but his fingers were rubbing over my breast and pinching my nipple. He was making me feel very good in two different places and it was hard for me to keep up. My stomach filled with heavy feelings and my head started to spin.  
I whimpered and reached forward. I wanted to find something solid to hold onto. I needed to center myself so that I could think, but I ended up with fistfulls of his shirt. I pulled my mouth away from his kiss and gasped for air. I was ready to follow through with my plan to rub his shirt, but he was too quick for me. He knelt down and took my nipple into his mouth and sucked and rolled it with his tongue.  
I moaned. So many feelings that I didn't recognize were filling me that I didn't know what to do. But I did know one thing: "I'm going to fall down," I said, tugging at his shoulders. "This is too much to handle."  
He laughed and said, "Then let's go to bed."  
His studio apartment was in darkness except for the light in the entryway and the ambient light from the city making the shade at the window glow dimly. He took my hand and guided me across the room to his bed and then he bent and turned on the bedside lamp. I gazed vaguely at the neatly made double bed with a black and gray patterned spread. The sight of it made the moral center of my brain sound a faint alarm, but it stood no chance against the tidal wave of unfamiliar hormones that swirled through my mind and body. I could barely string two coherent thoughts together and my body was aching and randomly twitching.  
Date was removing his shirt. I watched it leave his body with a pang of regret. I'd missed my opportunity to rub it but he pulled off his undershirt to reveal his chest and that looked even more inviting. It was a great expanse of warm skin calling to me touch it. I took a step forward and raised my hands to press them against his chest. He did work out. He was nicely muscled, hotter than I had expected and slightly sweaty. When I touched him, he hissed and brought his hands up to cover mine and press them tightly to him.  
"Damn," he said. "_Damn_. Let's hurry. Take things off." He removed my hands from him and pushed them back at me. I dropped my shirt off of my shoulders and worked through the steps of removing my bra. It felt nice to have both of my breasts exposed to the open air, it made them tingle even more. It almost felt like they were reaching out for him.  
"I'm going to need you to touch my breasts again," I said as I unfastened my slacks and pushed them down my legs, taking my underwear with them and then peeling off my socks.  
"Absolutely," he replied. He was taking longer to get undressed than I was. He had a belt to contend with, and he was being very careful with his clothes. He hung them over the back of a chair rather than dropping them to the floor like I was doing. As I watched him revealing more of his skin, my breathing became even more erratic. _Very strong feelings_ had built up in my lower stomach and my lady parts. It was an ache that almost felt like a sickness. I curled my arms around my stomach and bent over, trying to quell the intense feelings.  
"What are you doing?" he asked and put his hands on my back and arm to pull me up. "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I think I need to do this now," I answered and looked up at him for some sort of direction. "Me, too," he said, and his hands pulled and guided me onto the bed. He moved with me so that we were a momentary awkward tangle of limbs that resolved itself into the perfect setup, with me lying below him. His body was touching me in multiple places and each point of contact felt so good that it made me want more and more. I could even feel his man part bumping along my thighs and it sent shivers through me. My body wanted it very badly, being touched by it even just a little bit caused my hips to rise up off the bed, seeking him.  
He angled his body to the side and put his hand between my legs, and rubbed his fingers around in the wetness that had collected there and it felt overwhelmingly good. It made me moan and my hips bucked up against his hand. "You're ready," he said, his voice breathy.  
"Yes, _I am ready_," I affirmed, obeying his hands as he pushed my thighs apart. It felt surprising good just to open my body up to him. I tangled my hands into his bedspread and arched my back. My body was filled with the need to feel him inside of me.  
As he moved above me, he gave a strangled cry and went rigid. I felt a hot splash on my stomach and looked down to see what could only be his seed lying next to my belly button. "I think you did something wrong," I said, looking up at his face. He had turned to the side so that I couldn't see his expression.  
"Yeah," he said. "I just got too excited. I've been waiting for this for too long. I'm sorry. Don't move. I'll be right back."  
He climbed off of me and walked across the room to the bathroom. It was strange to see his naked back. I glanced down suspiciously at the white puddle on my stomach. It felt like a hand holding me down on the bed or a foreign substance that I could not trust.  
Date came back with a warm wet cloth and carefully cleaned my skin. "Is it okay?" I asked. "Nothing's broken or messed up?"  
"Everything's fine. I'm just a little embarrassed."  
"I think you were doing a very good job. We can try again tomorrow when you've recovered your stamina. I should probably go home and come back. What time would be good for you?"  
"Now is good for me. I'm not letting you out of my sight. It isn't going to take me until tomorrow to 'recover my stamina'. You have some strange misconceptions. We are getting back to things _right now_. There are plenty of things that I can do to you while my body is recharging."  
"Let's do that then. If we don't have to stop, I don't want stop."


	3. Chapter 3 - Frog Legs

(Saturday, July 14)

"I'm not eating naked. Give me something to wear," I snapped, staring at Date as I sat on his bed wrapped in a sheet that smelled like him and me and sex. He was nearly finished preparing breakfast for us and was refusing to give me clothes.  
"Why can't you eat naked? I like to look at you," he said with a little laugh as if the subject were a joke. "I think you should take that sheet off and let your skin breathe."  
"_One of us_ might like to flaunt his bare skin in every direction, but I refuse to eat naked. It's bad manners to dine without clothes on. We won't even get started on how stupidly dangerous it is to _cook_ with no clothes on, but feel free to endanger yourself. I know CPR," I said. He'd been frying eggs without a stitch on and I'd cringed every time he went to flip them over in the sizzling pan.  
"I'd like you to show me where it says anything about having to wear clothes in a book about table manners," he said, getting something out of the fridge.  
"It is standard etiquette to wear the proper attire for whatever the occasion requires," I snapped.  
"The proper attire for eating a breakfast that I have prepared for you after enjoying your body all night is _naked_," he said, trying to be clever. "That is how you can show your appreciation to the chef."  
"I am going to show my appreciation by _not_ calling the police to tell them that you are keeping a naked hostage in your apartment." I'd woken some time in the early morning to find that he'd sent my clothes to his laundry service. At the time he'd distracted me with kisses and roaming fingers, so I hadn't been able to truly vent my anger about it.  
"Would you have preferred it if I had just left your clothes on the floor and you could have worn them home tomorrow night all sweaty and wrinkled?" he asked.  
"You are trying to distract me from the subject. _Give me something to wear!_" I demanded.  
"Alright," he said with a sigh. "I have a pale blue shirt that will look great with your skin tones. If I can't have you naked, I'd prefer you to be wearing one of my t-shirts. You're going to look very cuddly and sexy."  
"Stop trying to turn this into a win for you. I won," I informed him.  
"Oh, this entire weekend is a win for me, Akiko," he said with a laugh. "Just one big win."  
I pulled on the shirt that he handed me and went to sit at the kitchen table. His eyes followed me the entire time.  
"You look amazing. Are you sure you won't let me take a picture of you?" he asked.  
"How many times do I have to tell you 'no pictures', you sicko pornographer?" He'd been moaning all night because I wouldn't let him take naked pictures of me.  
"The human body is an art form," he said as he finished setting the food out on the table. "Now, eat at much as you can. We need to replenish our energy."  
"The only people who say that are depraved artists who like to paint naked people," I informed him.  
"You lack any and all refinement," he shot back as we began eating.  
"Thanks for the compliment. That just means that I'm not putting on airs," I shoved some eggs in my mouth and followed it with toast. Having sex all night had made me very hungry.  
"Some people would say that it's putting on airs to insist on wearing clothes to a naked breakfast," he said.  
"Manners are not airs."  
"Naked is not shameful." His eyes were burning with a bright light.

"Damn you." I stood up from my seat and he knew exactly what I wanted. He pushed his chair back and his hands moved to help me straddle him. I settled onto him with a sigh, my skin was already getting jumpy because it was excited about touching him. Our torsos were separated by the t-shirt but I could feel his half-hard man part against my lady bits. I moaned because it felt so good to feel his part pressed against me and his arms wrapped around me. His hands moved down to grip my butt and rub our parts together. The feel of it made me moan and I thought about all of the things that we were going to do to each other and started to get really excited.  
I put my fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth to mine. I'd been practicing kissing all night and I was getting very good at it. I pushed my tongue past his lips to explore his mouth, enjoying the way that he moaned whenever I did something that he liked.  
I'd learned that I liked to hear him moan and to moan myself. It made me feel uninhibited and sexy and I could tell that Date really liked it when I made noises. He pulled his mouth from mine and I let out a soft cry just to let him know I didn't like his lips leaving mine. His mouth trailed wetly down my neck and I dropped my head back to give him full access to my skin.  
"Oh no," he said quietly when his mouth met the collar of the shirt. "A shirt." He put his hands on my stomach on top of the shirt and began rubbing over the fabric. It felt good, different from having his hands directly on my skin. I moved my hands behind me to place them firmly on his knees and arch into his hands.  
He kneaded my breasts and pinched my nipples through the shirt and I moaned and whimpered because it felt so good. The soft fabric added a new texture to the familiar feel of his fingers on me. Sharp little stabs of a good kind of pain were firing in my lady bits and I knew that meant it was getting hot and wet and ready for him. It happened every time we touched each other.

Date had dropped his head to my chest and was nibbling at my nipple through the shirt and using his tongue to swirl the damp cloth around on my skin. It made me cry out loudly a bunch of times as good warm sexy feelings were moving all over me. I could feel his man part between our bodies, it had grown to full size. I tipped my hips and did my best to rub my wet lady bits against it, trying to get that same feeling that he made when he messed around down there with his fingers - a sort of feeling that was very intense and spread all over my body, making everything even better.  
"Date! Date!" I cried because the feelings were twisting up in my stomach and making me feel desperate. "Let's go to the bed. I want you to put your man part in me."  
He helped me off his lap and we walked over to the bed, he kept his hands on me the entire time. It was always like he could never get enough of touching me. No wonder he had asked for the whole weekend instead of just one night. But that was fine with me because I was having a lot of fun.  
I tried to take off the t-shirt once we got to the bed, but he told me to keep it on. He pushed it up to expose my breasts when I lay down and started licking and sucking one nipple with his mouth while he worked on my other nipple with his hand. I admired his multi-tasking, but he was not giving me what I wanted.  
"Stop that! That's not what I told you to do. I want you to push your man part into my lady bits really hard. Like that time when you knocked my head on the headboard." I reached up to check that there was a good distance between the top of my head and the headboard. "You can play with my breasts later."  
He groaned with my nipple in his mouth which made tingles go down to my toes. He lifted himself up and looked down at me. "You are so challenging."  
I frowned up at him - ready to argue his statement - but he was already rubbing the end of his man part on my lady bits because he was getting ready to put it inside of me. So I let it pass.  
I wrapped my legs around him and moved my hips up so that he could get in as deeply as possible when he finally pushed himself inside of me. He started with a few slow plunges and I was instantly irritated because I _needed_ more. My body felt as if it were going to explode if I didn't get what I wanted. "No!" I shouted. "Push your man part in me really hard and fast!"  
"I'm just get warmed up," he replied. "I am going to fuck you so hard that you won't be _able _to talk."  
"Fair enough," I said, smiling happily as I prepared for him to get to work. "Give it to me!"  
With a sigh he began plunging into me hard and fast just like I had wanted. I held onto him tightly and strained to meet his every movement. We were both thrusting our parts together with as much force as possible, our bodies all tangled together and sweaty. Every time that he moved it made the amazing feelings in my lady part get stronger and stronger and everything that he did just added to the good feelings. He kissed me, he licked me, he stared into my eyes as he moved inside of me strongly. The sexy feelings just kept building inside of me until they crashed down in a great orgasm (I knew that's what it was because Jomei told me). I pulled him close and buried my face in his neck as I cried out because of the wonderful feelings that he had given me. He stroked my hair and continued thrusting into me until he got his own orgasm. I could feel his man part jerking inside of me as he did it.  
He moaned next to my ear and put his arms around me and then rolled us over so that we were lying next to each other. He started pressing kisses all over my face and I smiled and ran my fingers through his hair.  
"You did a really good job," I said. "I like having sex with you so much."  
"I'm glad," he replied with a little laugh. "I like have sex with you so much, too. And I decided that I like you in my shirt. You can wear it as long as you want." He pulled the shirt down over my body and reached to pull the blanket up over us.  
"It's got spit on it," I sat up and pulled the shirt off. "And I want to press my breasts against you while we're sleeping."  
"I guess I can't complain about that."

(Later That Day)

Opening my eyes after a nap, I saw Date sitting on the bed watching me. "You didn't take any pictures of me did you?" I asked suspiciously, noting that the blanket had slid down to bare my breasts while I slept.  
"Of course not. I may be a sicko pornographer, but I'm an ethical one," he said with a smile before his expression turned serious. "We need to have a little lesson about body parts. You've got to stop shouting about my 'man part' while we're having sex. At first it was cute but now it is just getting creepy. Who knows what the neighbors are thinking."  
I glanced at the walls of his studio apartment. I hadn't even thought about the fact that he obviously had neighbors. We'd been making a lot of noise all night and into the afternoon. "You're right. We should think up some code phrases in case people are eavesdropping. Maybe something like 'pass me the broom!" would work."  
"No, it will not!" He moved closer and took my hand and put it on his part. It was soft and I ran my fingers over it. Date didn't let me touch it very much. He said that it made him too excited. "This is my cock or my dick or my rod or my shaft. Those are the only things that you are allowed to call it. Any other euphemisms you would like to use will have to be preapproved. Don't go making anything up in the heat of the moment."  
"It might be hard to get used to," I said. "I don't know if I'll be able to remember to use the right words when I'm getting all excited. My brain doesn't seem to work very well when you're touching me."  
"Figure it out." He pulled the blanket from my body and pushed my legs apart to cup my lady part in his hand. The feel of his warm hand on me made me sigh. "This is your pussy or your cunt or your sex." His fingers began exploring my lady part, or my _pussy_. "These are your lips or your labia or your vulva."  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You seem to know a little too much about female anatomy."  
"I just looked some of that stuff up on my phone. This has never been an issue before," he said with a shake of his head. "You just can't keep telling me to push my man part into your lady part. It distracts me when I need to focus on what I'm doing."  
"I've wondered before if you might have ADD. Have you ever been tested?" I asked.  
"I do not have ADD," he said firmly. "Why don't you try practicing some of your new words."  
"I like the way that you are rubbing my labia," I said, pushing up into his fingers and smiling at him.  
"I don't know if this is going to work," he said thoughtfully. "There's just something about you. You make everything weird."  
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, not ready to give up. "I'll talk dirty for you a lot so that I can practice - Rub my labia harder and after that I think you should probably lick it...oh, or do that sucking thing you do. Yeah, do _all_ of those things. See? I like this. This is fun."  
"How can you be so weird and so awkward and so sexy?" he asked, his voice almost accusing. "You drive me crazy and make me want to fuck you all at the same time. You're taking years off my life."  
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just saying the things that you told me to say," I said. "What do women normally say when you're having sex with them?"  
"Oh, you know, thinks like 'oh, right there' or 'harder' or 'you are so good at this, Jomei'," he said with a funny high pitched voice.  
"I think that last thing might be a lie," I narrowed my eyes at him and he gave my lady bits a little pinch in retaliation.  
"Well, they definitely call me Jomei. It's weird to have you calling me Date when we're having sex," he said with a little cringe. "Although, now that I think about it, maybe we should just roleplay being at work. Try saying, 'Oh no, Mr. Date! It looks like we're locked in the file room! Whatever will we do?'"  
"That sounds ridiculous. The file room doesn't even have a lock on it," I informed him. "You're my boss. I don't want to get into the habit of calling you the wrong thing. What if I slipped up at work and everyone found out that we had a sex weekend?"  
He shook his head and said, "I don't think that's going to happen. Everyone at work thinks we don't get along. They'd never jump to that conclusion. They'd probably think you were just trying to be disrespectful."  
"Everyone knows that I always use good manners. And it's good that everyone thinks we don't get along, we should keep it that way so no one ever finds out about this," I said and noticed that his hand had moved to caress my hip bone and he'd forgotten it there while we were talking. "What are you doing? You're getting distracted. You stopped rubbing my labia. Rub it some more and tell me what that thing is in there that feels extra good."  
"What, this thing?" he asked, finding the little bump with his finger and rubbing it. "That's your clit. You didn't know?"  
I shook my head. "No. I think you should lick it now. I really like it when you lick it."  
"That's good, because I really like licking it. I like the way you feel against my tongue and I like the way you taste."  
"I like those things about you, too," I said as he settled himself between my thighs.

(Sunday, July 15)

"What do you want to do this afternoon?" Date asked. I was sitting on his couch while he washed dishes. We'd just eaten lunch. By this time I'd given in to his whining and was eating my meals naked. I'd turned into a complete degenerate in less than forty-eight hours, although I still wasn't letting him take pictures of me. So, at least I had some pride to hold onto.  
I thought about his question for a minute and said, "I'm not sure. I like to have sex frog style, but I think I might want to try doggie style, too."  
"What in the hell is frog style?" he asked throwing down the dish towel and walking over to stand in front of me.  
"You know, when I pull my knees up and spread my legs wide and it looks like frog legs," I answered, pulling one of my knees up to give a little demonstration.  
"Oh my God!," he cried. "I am never going to get that image out of my mind. What is wrong with you? Never say that again!"  
"I seriously do not know what you are talking about," I frowned up at him. He was always talking about me being weird when he was obviously the one that was a little off. "If you can compare one position to a dog, what's the big deal with comparing another one to a frog? I'm sure there are other positions named after animals."  
"Oh yeah, which ones?"  
"I don't know. _I'm_ the virgin here. You're supposed to be teaching me positions. It isn't my fault that you seem to favor the frog position. I'd probably know a bunch more positions by now if your repertoire was more varied."  
"Stop calling it that!" he yelled. "I do not want to picture you with frog legs!"  
"But it's okay to picture me like a dog for doggie style?"  
"Stop talking! You are ruining everything!"  
"You can't tell me to stop talking! Stop being overly sensitive!"  
"It's time to change things up! You are going to learn to suck my cock!"  
"What? You just want to shut me up! I'm not letting you put your man part in my mouth if you have an ulterior motive!"  
"I told you to stop calling my dick a 'man part'! You are creeping me out!"  
"We are wasting time! We only have seven hours left and you are crying about frogs and man parts!"  
Jomei rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. "You're right," he said in a very steady voice. "Akiko, what would you like to do next? I would be happy to fuck you doggie style or show you how to suck my cock, or anything else that you would like to do. Let's try to make good use of our time."  
"With seven hours left, we can maybe do it three times. So sucking and doggie for sure. You're the one with experience. What should we do for the third thing?"  
"I think we should do it with you on top, but I'd like you to put your hair back in braids for that. I'd like to keep the memory of you riding me...and, uh, you've got your braids."  
"Do you have some sort of braid fetish? Is that was this weekend has been about?"  
"No. I have an Akiko _fixation_ and I'm used to seeing you in braids. Hell, you know what? I changed my mind. I want you in braids for the rest of the afternoon."

(Later That Night)

"Oh yeah, I like that. Keep doing that for a little bit," I said. We'd extended my departure time and were having sex one more time. Date was taking everything really slowly. He was licking and nibbling up the side of my torso and it was making a bunch of different feelings in my body - it was exciting and tickly and made me want to stretch and relax all at the same time.  
"Mmm, you like this?" His lips and tongue and teeth made their way over and started paying attention to the underside of my breast. "I am never going to forget the way that you taste."  
He licked around on my nipple and the feel of it made the good sensations in my lady bits get stronger. My hands were all over him, rubbing and touching every part of him that I could reach. I was even using my feet to rub his legs. Everything in me was telling me to hurry up and get his man part in me, but I was trying really hard to go slow to match his pace. It felt so good to go so slow.  
I pushed my fingers into his hair and tugged on his head. "Come back up here," I said. "I want to kiss you some more." He licked his way up to my mouth and we started kissing each other with lots of passion. Since it was the last time, I was doing my best to get everything from him that I could and to give as much of me as possible in return. I licked and sucked his lip and rubbed his tongue with mine while my fingers explored his face and tugged on his hair. I'd started whimpering a little because as much of him as I got it didn't feel like it was going to be enough.  
He put his arms around me and rolled us over, his hands rubbing all over my back, kneading my butt and stroking over the backs of my thighs. I pressed myself against him and licked down the soft skin of his neck. I was never going to forget the way that he tasted and he felt. I was going to remember this every time that my friends were out with their boyfriends and husbands, every time that they were talking about sex, every time that I was feeling alone.  
"I can't wait anymore. I need you to get inside of me now."  
"Yes, Akiko."  
We rolled back over and he settled himself between my legs. "Look at me," he said. I looked up and saw his eyes staring into mine. They were full of burning emotions. He held my gaze as he slowly entered me with his man part. I couldn't stop whimpering and moaning. I could feel every centimeter of our bodies touching. My lady bits and insides felt like a battlefield after a long war, they had been abused for the past two days. Feeling him inside of me was a strong mix of pleasure and pain, feelings that radiated out to fill my whole body.  
The two of us looked down to watch his man part move slowly in and out of me. The sight of our bodies connected for the last time was bittersweet. "Wait," I said. "One picture, just one." I reached to grab my phone off the nightstand and fumbled to take a picture of his shaft buried halfway in me. "Okay, okay," I said when I had finished and tossed the phone to the side. "Keep going and don't stop."  
He began moving in and out of me, in a slow deep rhythm. We kissed and touched and held each other as pleasure and excitement slowly built up within us. When I had an orgasm, it was quieter and stronger than usual. I clung to him, holding on very tightly while my body moved on his part. He held me just as tightly, saying things like "yes, Akiko, yes...perfect." I lay back, trying to ignore the aftershocks that were making my body twitch to watch his face as he had his own orgasm. He held my gaze for as long as possible, until he had to close his eyes and let his pleasure take over him.  
He lay on top of me. We both stayed very still, trying to keep his man part inside of me as long as possible. But it can never stay in forever. When it finally slipped out he moaned and rolled off of me.  
"Okay," I said and sat up. "That was very good. That was great." I smiled down at him. It was true. It had been great. We'd had a great weekend but it was time for it to be over. It was best to be happy about it and businesslike. Not get all mushy and sad because it was over. "I'll shower when I get home. I should get going right away. It's late and we have work tomorrow."  
"I'll walk you to the station."  
"No. Don't. I think it's better if you stay here. Just stay on the bed while I get dressed and leave."  
"Okay."  
I gave him one last kiss before I left his apartment and went home.


	4. Chapter 4 - A New Contract

(Monday, July 23)

"Hey."  
I looked up to see Date standing at my work station holding a file folder. I'd been working to kill all sexual feelings that might creep up on me after the weekend that we'd spent together. I'd been mostly successful, but it was harder with him standing close to me. We'd had an unspoken agreement to give each other lots of space over the last week. We'd barely spoken to each other and had always maintained maximum distance. Now my body was getting a little warm and tingly because he'd decided to break the rules. I frowned up at him. "What do you want?"  
"I want to go home with you tonight," he said, keeping his voice low. I raised my eyebrows at him in shock and quickly searched the office. It was lunchtime. The only other person in the room was Kodama who was snoring with his head on his desk across the room.  
"What are you talking about?" I hissed. "We completed our contract!"  
He shrugged as if that didn't matter. "I want more of you."  
"You said a weekend would be enough!"  
"I was wrong. I need more time."  
I frowned up at him, considering his offer. I definitely wouldn't mind having sex with him again. Even now my heart was thudding in my chest and I was growing hot. He was standing at a reasonable distance for talking to me at my desk, but it felt far too close. At this point maybe I needed to get him out of my system so we could go back to relating normally at work. "What are we talking about here? One more night?"  
"One night isn't going to do it. I think we should leave it open-ended. We can put an end to it when it feels like it's time," he said.  
"That's a really lax attitude. I can't agree to that. We'd need some sort of contract and defined parameters at least."  
"I knew you would say that. I propose that we skip overtime tonight. We can leave separately and meet at this restaurant. It's near your apartment." He slipped a business card out of the folder that he was holding and sat it on my desk. "We can come to an agreement about '_the parameters'_ of our affair and then I'll take you home."  
I looked at the business card. It indicated that he'd planned this ahead of time - looking up my address and visiting my neighborhood to select a restaurant. I had to give him credit for proper planning. I looked back up at him. "I suppose that it couldn't hurt. I never did get to rub your shirt."  
He stared down at me for a moment. "What? This shirt?" He raised his eyebrows and moved his hand to rub his fingers slowly over his shirt just below his collarbone. My hands itched to do the same. Or to hit him.  
"You bastard. Inciting arousal at work is against the rules."  
"Then you should have been fired long ago," he said with a laugh and walked back to his desk.  
Half an hour later I glanced up at his reflection in the mirror and saw that he had removed his suit jacket and was working in his shirtsleeves.  
He was playing with fire.

(Later That Evening)

When I arrived at the restaurant, he was already there, sitting at a table with a beer in front of him.  
"I'm not sure you should be drinking," I said as I sat down. "We have a contract to hammer out. You should keep your wits about you or I might take advantage of you."  
"I'm here _hoping_ that you will take advantage of me," he teased and then frowned when I lowered my eyebrows at him. "I'm only having one and I'm drinking it very slowly. I promise that I have my wits about me."  
"Fine. I've been thinking of the sorts of things that we will need to discuss," I said. "Are we really just going to leave this thing open-ended?"  
Date nodded, "I don't think anything else will work for me. There's just no predicting how long it will take me to get enough of you."  
"It's unwise to have it vague like that. What happens if one of us wants to stop and the other one doesn't?" I asked.  
"Hmm. We just need to be adults and allow it to end when it is time for it to end."  
I nodded. At least this way we wouldn't have to keep tacking on more days. "How often are we going to get together? Did you have something in mind?"  
"I guess every night is too much. How about...Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays carrying into Saturdays. We can have Sundays off, that's when you visit your brother and his family," he suggested.  
I thought about it. "That's a lot of time. Meeting on weekdays might interfere with work - and every Saturday? What about your personal plans?"  
He shook his head. "Right now, the most important thing to me is being inside of you. You've been distracting me for too long. I need to get past this so I can function and that includes at work. I figure that my productivity will go up relative to how often I get to see you."  
After the last week of trying to crush my body's response to him at work, I could understand where he was coming from. "We can just keep an open mind about Saturdays. If one of us needs to make other plans, we can just give some advance warning."  
"That sounds good to me. But I would like to have you for as much time as possible. So, say you wanted to hang out with your friends on a Saturday afternoon - we could still spend Friday night and Saturday morning together. Unless you see a problem with that?"  
"No, I don't see a problem… We'll just be flexible about Saturdays and do what seems to work best for both of us," I said. "Should we make a schedule for where we meet? Maybe one week at your place and one week at mine?"  
"Do you have a single bed?" When I nodded, he continued, "I think sex is better in a double bed. Maybe we should spend more time at my apartment."  
"That doesn't seem fair. You have all of your stuff around you and I just feel like a guest. Maybe I'll invest in a larger bed."  
"I've never seen your apartment. Will a bigger bed fit?" he asked.  
"It will work if I rearrange some things. It seems like a good idea. I really do want to learn some more positions and a bigger bed will make that more feasible. I'll order a new bed tomorrow."  
"I think that's a good idea. We're going to your place tonight, so we should finish the week there. It would be nice if you could have the bed delivered as soon as possible. And one more thing. You need to start calling me Jomei. Date just isn't acceptable anymore. We'll just have to be careful at work."  
"I can do that and we should keep pretending like we don't get along at work, and we should each be responsible for stocking condoms at our own apartments."  
"That sounds fair. Are we finished? Do you want this last slice of pizza? Are you ready to go?" His voice indicated that he was getting a little anxious.  
"There's got to be more things for us to discuss," I replied. Searching my mind for anything we may have forgotten.  
"Right. Why don't we just say that we can amend the contract as necessary?"  
"That seems fair. Let's go then. I don't want you finishing early and cheating me out of my orgasm."

(Friday, July 27)

"We need to amend the contract," I said as I began chopping vegetables to make dinner.  
"I knew this was coming," Jomei said with a sigh, displaying a bad attitude. He'd stripped off his clothes as soon as we'd entered my apartment even though we'd agreed to eat before getting to the sex. He was definitely a nudist. He was lounging around on my new double bed like being naked in someone else's home was totally normal.  
"Sexting me constantly on our days off is not allowed," I said, turning around to narrow my eyes at him. He was always so casual about things.  
"I think we may just need more days," he said, smiling back at me as if I were waving hello to him rather than glaring at him.  
"We're having sex four days a week." I reminded him. "You can't go one day without the bits?"  
"'The bits'?" he asked with a laugh. "And my body doesn't know anything about days and schedules. It just keeps asking where you are."  
"If you can call your man part "the D", I can call my lady bits, "the bits". And you need to have more control over your body. This is not going to be some degenerate thing where we are humping like rabbits every day of the week."  
"_No animal analogies_!" he yelled. "And I fail to see why adding more days would be a problem. We're adults. We can have sex as often as we like."  
"We need to maintain our separate lives and take care of our personal responsibilities," I explained. "If I'm going to be having sex with you all day on Saturdays, then I need to get my cleaning and laundry done on weekday evenings. Which is really difficult when someone keeps interrupting me with texts about what he wants to do to my lady bits."  
"You were supposed to be overwhelmed with desire and send me a text asking me to take a taxi over and fuck you all night."  
"That sort of thing isn't in our contract."  
"It should be. What are you cooking over there?" He sounded more suspicious than curious.  
"It's my own recipe. It's a soup or stew or something."  
"I think it's burning."  
"Listen, Jomei. I know your mother had the time to make everything perfect for you when you were growing up, but the rest of us had to learn to suck it up and deal with what we got. This soup is fine."  
"God. I really need to eat. I've got to get through tonight and all day tomorrow. I need to maintain my stamina. Where do you keep your delivery fliers?"  
"It's a waste of money to order food when dinner is being prepared for you."  
"If I don't get enough to eat I might pass out during the night. You're always telling me to push it in you really hard, do you know how much energy that takes?"  
"Eat the soup. I'll get on top and do all the work."

(Saturday, August 4)

"I like your park. It's got a really nice path for running," I said as Jomei and I went for a run in the early morning. I had insisted that endless sex was not a substitute for actual exercise.  
"It's better than your park. It has a lot more bushes for us to hide behind." He was craning his neck around as if he were trying to locate every single bush.  
I sighed and said, "I've already made it clear to you that I will not be having sex with you behind a bush."  
"I remember. But kissing behind a bush is good and maybe a little touching," he said in a suggestive voice.  
"There are children in this park and senior citizens," I reminded him.  
"I said '_behind the bush_'. I'm not going to grope you where people can see us."  
"And I'm not going to be arrested for public indecency just because you are a degenerate with zero self-control."  
"First of all, I have plenty of self-control," he argued. "_Loads of it_. Except for when I'm around _you_. You are the catalyst of my destruction."  
"What the hell? You've been reading too much manga."  
"And second of all, even around you I have _tons_ of self-control. I have never once bent you over your desk and fucked you, even though you've been crying out for it since the moment I first laid eyes on you."  
"I don't recall crying out for anything like that," I snapped. "Don't try to shift the blame for your depraved sex fantasies onto me."  
"Are you kidding me? This is all your fault. I have always been a mild mannered manager who maintained perfect boundaries with his employees. And then you showed up with your braids and destroyed everything."  
"You're being overly dramatic."  
"Overdramatic? I was plagued by sexual fantasies about you for months while you just calmly worked on invoices. I am a tortured soul and you won't even add one more day per week to our contract."  
"I've been thinking that your suggestion to add Saturday night through Sunday morning probably wouldn't hurt. As long as I get my run in."  
"Are you serious?" He grabbed me and pulled me behind a bush. "Time for some celebration kisses." I started to argue but he pulled me close and clamped his mouth down on mine before I could get a word out. His lips were firm and bold. I really liked it when he kissed me when he was especially happy. I could always feel his smile on his lips and his happiness in the way that he touched me with an excited energy. The feel of it distracted me for a few minutes, making me forget where we were as our tongues did a little dance together.  
When I felt his fingertips sneak under my t-shirt and glide over my stomach, I quickly came to my senses and pushed him away. "What are you doing?!" I barked. "We're in public!"  
"Your kisses made me forget everything," he said, his eyes were laughing. "Let's cut our run short. If we sprint back to my place it should be just as much exercise as if we jog slowly around the park. If you still don't feel like you've gotten enough exercise once we get there, I'll let you be on top."  
I stared at him for a moment, contemplating the importance of following through with plans and setting the proper precedent, but in the end he just looked too tempting in his running shorts. "Okay," I agreed. "Let's get back as fast as we can."

When we arrived at his apartment - panting and sweaty from our run - I hurried to his desk and bent over it, pushing my butt out. "Mr. Date, help me!" I cried out, trying to contain my giggles. "I got my braid stuck in this pencil sharpener and I can't get it out!"  
I could hear Jomei laughing as his footsteps came closer and I felt his hands settle on my behind. "You're in luck, Miss Sera, I've been specifically trained on just this sort of workplace safety hazard. If you can remain calm, I should be able to wiggle your braid out of there and we won't have to call the fire department."  
"Yes Sir, Mr. Date! I'll do my best to remain calm. I wouldn't want to damage productivity by causing a disturbance."  
"Your dedication to the company always impresses me, Miss Sera. Now hold still while I do a thorough investigation of the situation," he directed. He pulled my shorts and underwear off and began massaging my behind. I moaned and stretched out my spine, enjoying the feel of his warm hands on me. "It seems the situation is worse than I'd thought. This is going to take quite a bit of effort."  
I gasped as I felt his lips and tongue descend on my buttcheeks. His lips pressed open mouthed kisses over my skin and his tongue licked and tasted while his fingers massaged over the tops of my thighs. Tingles and shivers went all over me. He was stimulating me so close to my lady part that it was making me throb and ache with need even faster than usual.  
"Jomei, please," I moaned, begging for more. I could feel his teeth scraping gently against my skin and it was making my lady bits twinge painfully with need.  
"I think you're forgetting yourself, Miss Sera," he said, his breath puffing over the layer of saliva that he'd coated my butt with, chilling my skin. I wriggled in response. I felt his thumbs slide between my legs and they began massaging my inner thighs. He was so close to my clit and my lady part, but so far away.  
"Jomei!" I screeched. "What are you doing?! Touch my lady bits _now_!" I heard and felt him laughing quietly behind me. He moved a hand between my legs and rubbed lightly over my vulva, teasing me with his fingertips. Groaning loudly in frustration, I tried to push myself into his hand. He rose up, his mouth leaving my butt and his free hand pushing my t-shirt up my back. His tongue landed in the small of my back and began licking its way up my spine while his fingers delved deeper between my vulva, massaging through hot wet folds of skin.  
"Touch my clit now!" I demanded, reaching back and swatting at the side of his body, at whatever I could reach. "And why are your clothes still on?! You need to get inside of me right away!"  
Jomei sighed and muttered, "I suppose you would be just as demanding if I really fucked you at the office." He left my body and I looked back to see him taking his clothes off. I could see his man part standing up and ready to get inside of me. I sighed in anticipation and wiggled happily.

"Do it hard and fast," I said. "I want to feel you really deep inside of me."  
"Yes, Akiko," he said. Guiding the tip of his part to my entrance, he began pushing himself slowly into me. I arched and pushed back towards him, pressing my tingling breasts into the desk and trying to get him as deep in me as possible. When he had seated himself firmly inside, he put his hands on my hips and pulled me back against him, shoving himself in a little further and making me moan with pleasure.  
His hands kept pulling, moving me away from the desk so that he could reach around and touch my lady part. I felt his fingertips brush over my clit and squealed at the intense sexy feelings that it caused. With his fingers rubbing my clit, his other hand held my hip and he began thrusting himself in and out of me, quickly building to a fast rhythm of hard plunges.  
Moaning and crying out, I was nearly overwhelmed by the way he was massaging my clit and thrusting into me. There was nothing that I could do with my upper body. I couldn't touch him or kiss him or press myself against him. I couldn't even get a good look at him. Instead I had to focus all of my attention on what he was doing inside and outside my lady bits. It was nearly overwhelming. My body tensed and strained around him, building quickly to an orgasm that had me crying out over and over, my voice echoing off the walls of his apartment.

As I lay moaning, my face on the cool surface of his desk, his fingers left my clit and his man part came to a stop deep inside of me. A moment later I felt his moist finger carefully rub over my butthole. I gasped in shock as my body reacted to his light touch. My butt clenched as if to ward him off and that made me clench around his man part. My nipples tightened and tingled. I held my breath, wondering what he was going to do next. "Akiko," he said, his voice quiet and gentle. His finger was circling my hole. It felt good - exciting and unexpectedly sexy. "I want to fuck you in the ass. Will you let me?"  
I let out a sigh. My body was still at the tail end of my orgasm, his man part was still buried deeply inside of me and my mind was clouded by sexy feelings. In that condition, it was just so easy to forgo thinking and analyzing and just tell him yes.  
"Okay," he said and leaned down to drop a few kisses on my shoulder. "Just stay right here for a sec."  
I turned my head to watch him walk over to the nightstand and pull out a small bottle. When he came back to stand behind me, he rubbed his hand over my buttcheeks and said, "This is lube. It's going to feel a little cold." I felt my stomach twist a little with anxiety and I bit my lip as the cool wetness of the lube fell on my skin. I wished that I could see him and look into his eyes. I knew that it would make me feel more secure, but his hands and his voice were gentle and I knew that I could trust him. He was always paid attention to my feelings and he was always considerate.  
"It could hurt or be uncomfortable," he said. "You might give it a minute to see if it starts to feel good. Any time you want to stop, just tell me and I will stop." I felt him press a fingertip to my hole and push past the natural resistance of my body and up inside of me. I held my breath and focused on his finger as he moved it gently inside of me. His movements seemed to be directly connected to my clit. With every caress of his finger, my little nub tingled and ached.  
"How does this feel?" he asked, his free hand was caressing gently over my back. His finger inside of me felt strange and out of place, but good at the same time. It was making the sexy feelings all over my body wake back up. "I think I like it," I answered. "I think it feels good. I do want to try your man part in there."  
"Okay," he said and took his finger out of me to reach for the bottle of lubricant. "Just remember to tell me to stop or slow down or whatever you need."  
I felt the tip of his man part at the entrance to my butt and it felt so much bigger than his finger. His hand was on my buttcheek, pulling me open. He said, "Try to relax." I buried my face in my folded arms, blocking out the light of the room. I focused all of my attention on the feel of him pressing for entrance and then suddenly he was inside, slowly pushing forward to fill me.  
I started moaning and gasping. It was a challenge to process all of the feelings that were filling me. It did hurt a little, and my body was sending me signals that something was going wrong. But it also felt good. I could feel him filling me up more and more as he went deeper into my body. He felt so big and hard and hot and slippery wet. His hands moved to my waist, giving a little pull when he was deep inside of me to go just a little further in.  
"Are you okay?" he asked. Moaning, I pushed myself back into him and said, "Yes. Please do it."  
He began moving inside of me, starting with slow thrusts and increasing his speed until he was plunging quickly in and out of me. I was moaning and crying out. Each thrust pushed the sexy feeling inside of me higher and higher. I felt close to an orgasm but it was always just out of reach. My clit throbbed for attention, but his hands were holding me firmly at my waist. Finally, Jomei thrust himself deeply inside of me with a roar of satisfaction and I knew that he was orgasming. After a few moments that consisted of nothing but the two of us gasping and moaning, Jomei pulled out of me and I pushed myself up from the desk, feeling disoriented. "Come on," he said. "Let's get in the shower. I know you still need to get off."

After cleaning the pertinent areas, he pushed me into the corner of the shower and dropped to his knees to suck my clit between his lips and caress it over and over with his tongue. He plunged two fingers in and out of my lady bits while his tongue worked on my clit, bringing me quickly to the orgasm that I had been hanging on the edge of.  
"Akiko," he said, kissing up my body and taking my mouth in a deep kiss, his arms holding me tightly to him. "You're amazing," he breathed in my ear when he finally drew himself away from my mouth. "Thank you for saying yes. I'm sorry that I asked you that in the heat of the moment. I know that you prefer to have things planned out and prepared in advance."  
"Thank you," I replied, raining little kisses down his neck, feeling so close to him. "I might have said no if you'd asked me when my brain was fully functioning, or at least taken a very long time to think it over. But I liked it so much. I just really like having your man part inside of me."  
He gave a little laugh. "Good, because my dick really likes to be inside of you."  
We stepped out of the shower and he handed me a towel. "I'm going to run down to the convenience store and pick up a couple of bento boxes for lunch. I don't want to waste any time cooking. You just gave me an office roleplay and anal sex. The afternoon is going to be all about you. So you think about what you want while I'm gone."  
He threw on a t-shirt and shorts and left the apartment with his hair still wet and uncombed. He turned to look at me before he walked out the door.  
"Do not put any clothes on."

(Tuesday, August 14)

*Ding Ding*  
I looked up from the requisition form that I was checking and glanced over at my phone. I knew that the text was from Jomei.

Jomei - Love the frog. Dying 2 kiss u tx -

I'd bought a little frog figurine on Sunday evening and slipped it onto his desk this morning.

Me - You're welcome. You can kiss me tomorrow night. -

Jomei - Lets meet 2nite plz! -

Me - Can't do. Benjiro's Bargain Basement is having a 50% off midnight sale. It's one day only. -

Jomei - Ur buying clothes? Lk 4 pale pink and light blue! Stay away from red! -

Me - I'm going to buy whatever's cheapest. -

Jomei - Ur killing me. Meet me in file room 4 kisses. My D is hard -

Me - No way. Keep it in your pants. Do not send me a dick pic. -

Jomei - I need 2 lick ur pussy til u call my name. Meet me in storage container 17 -

Me - You're dreaming. I'm turning my phone off. -

"I approve of your new outfit. It drives me crazy when you wear a skirt. I've been staring at you all day," Jomei said the following evening. We were lying on his bed panting and sweaty and sticky. He'd grabbed me as soon as I'd walked through his door. As usual on a workday, we hadn't even bothered to remove all of our clothes before he put his man part in me. My new skirt and underwear were lying on the floor. I was still wearing my cardigan and Jomei had half-unbuttoned my shirt to pop one of my breasts out of my bra.  
He rubbed the edge of my cardigan between his thumb and fingers. "What in the hell is this made of?" he asked. "It feels like one of those plastic things that you scrub dishes with. It's like the worst kind of synthetic fabric."  
"That's what makes it the best," I said as I sat up and began peeling the remainder of my clothes off. "It doesn't need dry cleaned and it's very durable. This fabric doesn't even fade, it'll last ten years."  
"That kills something inside of me," he said with a little laugh as he finished removing his own clothes. "Maybe I've been misinterpreting my desire to rip your clothes off. Maybe I was just trying to save you from this fabric."  
"You've wasted all this time having sex with me then, because I'm not giving up my clothes," I said as I snuggled up to his naked body.  
"I don't want to take your clothes anyway. You wouldn't be you without them. Although, I might get more work done," he said, his hand stroking over my back. "What would you like for dinner? Chicken or fish?"  
"Chicken, but I think I need an appetizer." I pushed myself away from his chest to look down into his eyes. "I'm going to put your man part in my mouth now."  
"That sounds great," Jomei said. "I'm going to enjoy my man part being in your mouth."

_*_*_*_*_

(Wednesday, August 22)

"Look what I got," I said, pulling a book off a shelf and taking a seat at my kitchen table.  
Jomei came to stand next to me and took the book out of my hand. "The Joy of Sex? This thing looks ancient...it was published in 1972. Did you get this from your _parents_?" he asked in a shocked and accusing voice.  
"You must be joking! Why would my parents have a sex book!?" I snapped. "I bought it at a used bookstore. I thought we could use it to try out some new positions." I was excited about the prospect, but Jomei was looking through the books skeptically.  
"I don't know if your parents are the type of people to have a sex book or not. I'm still trying to figure out what sort of people would have raised you."  
"What's that supposed to mean? My parents are great." I narrowed my eyes at him warningly, but he was focused on the book.  
"Well, you are certainly unique. I often wonder if you are some kind of anomaly or maybe you're like your parents… Hmmm. This one looks interesting…"  
I was staring up at him with a frown. "You think I'm an anomaly? What is that even supposed to mean?"  
He blinked down at me as if he'd just realized what he had been saying. "You must know that you aren't like other people. You're a very special person. I think that's why I'm so attracted to you. I just want to learn more about you and figure you out."  
"I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel about that. What is it that you are trying to figure out?"  
"Well… I still don't understand why you were so oblivious to your own body," Jomei said. "You're a very intelligent person. It's strange that you didn't even know where your clit was."  
I frowned at him and then looked away as I said, "Guys have never been interested in me. It just seemed better to keep that door closed so that I wouldn't really know what I was missing."  
I felt his hand come to rest gently on my shoulder. "Hey," he said and twitched my shoulder to get me to look back up at him. "Thank you for letting me open that door. Now pick one of these positions and remember to always tell me if there is something that you want to do or try. I want to give you everything that you want."  
I nodded and bit my lip. I wasn't sure that opening up to him had been the right thing to do, but sharing our bodies was causing us to become intimate in more ways than one. He was starting to feel like a friend, like a special secret friend that I could tell things to that I even hid from my real friends.

I flipped through the book and found the picture of the couple having sex lying on their sides with the man behind the woman. "This one," I said, pointing to the picture. Jomei pulled me from my seat and rubbed his thumbs softly over my cheeks. "That's a good choice," he said. "I want to try that one too."  
He started kissing me, his lips and tongue moving slowly and gently over mine, licking and sucking and tasting. He stepped closer so that our bodies were touching and wrapped his arms around me to pull me into his warmth. Sliding my hands up between us, I buried my fingers in his hair and opened my mouth up to him. Our tongues met calmly and we explored and tasted each other without our usual desperate hurry or thoughtless abandon, taking our time to enjoy every moment.  
Sliding my glasses off, he laid them on the table and dropped featherlight kisses on my eyelids. I could hear him breathing in my scent and feel that he was savoring being close me to. "Let's get these clothes off," he whispered and we moved to undress, our hands moving between our bodies as we each helped the other to expose our skin to the light.  
I lay on the bed and he moved over me, unhurried, licking the curves of my breasts and drawing my nipple into his mouth to caress it with his tongue. "You're nipples are so perfect," he said as he trailed kisses to my other breast to give it the same treatment. "Always so perfect."  
Arching into him, I moaned and gasped and called his name. My body was hot and sweaty and aching for him. I reveled in the weight of him lying between my thighs, his mouth and hands on me, building and building the sexy feelings of need in my lady bits. My hands never rested, my fingers were always questing to touch and feel more of him, pressing and tugging his damp skin.  
He moved up to take my mouth in a deep kiss, his tongue and lips asking for more and more, his hand cupping my face to hold me in place. "Are you ready?" he asked, gazing into my eyes. When I answered with a "yes", we moved into the position from the book. Jomei slid behind me and pressed his chest against my back. His hand moved to pull my leg up and guide his part to my lady bits and slowly push himself inside of me. I moaned as he filled me. It was strange not to have him in front of me, hovering over me and blocking out everything but him. Lying like this I felt open and exposed to the cool air. He was hot against my back, and hard inside of me and his face with buried in the crook of my neck, his mouth kissing and licking my sensitive skin.  
He took my hand in his and guided it to my lady bits, pressing my fingers onto my clit and moving them so that I caressed myself. "Feel how hot and wet you are? How soft? I want you to touch yourself while I'm fucking you. Help me get you off." I explored around a little with my fingertips, feeling the softness that he was talking about and the swollen little nub of my clit. Touching it made my body twitch and jerk. Whimpering and moaning, I figured out how to touch myself so that it wasn't too much, finding the perfect pressure and rhythm to compliment the way that Jomei was moving inside of me.  
His hand moved up and began to massage my breast, pinching and pulling my nipple. I was overwhelmed by the sensations of Jomei thrusting in and out of me, my own fingers rubbing my clit and his fingers on my nipple. I moaned again and again as everything in me focused on my lady bits and my muscles contracted around his man part. I cried out as an orgasm built up and then crashed over me with full force.  
Jomei pulled me tightly to him and continued to his own climax while me body twitched and shivered. "Akiko," he said, his lips against my ear. "Roll over so that I can kiss you." I turned into his arms and he dropped gentle kisses on my mouth.  
"I like that position, but it doesn't let me kiss you enough and I can't see your face," he said. "I like to see your face when I'm inside of you. I think we need a really big mirror."  
"I am not buying a giant mirror so that you can watch us having sex, you pervert."  
"A video then. Just one."  
"Absolutely not."


	5. Chapter 5 - Friends With Benefits

(Saturday, September 15)

"You look really nervous," I said, narrowing my eyes at Jomei. "Why are you so nervous? Are you afraid of children?"  
"No, I'm not afraid of children!" he snapped. He was shifting uncomfortably as we rode an elevator to the seventh floor. "I'm just a little nervous about meeting your family."  
"Don't be. It's not a big deal," I assured him. I was taking my niece and nephew to an amusement park and Jomei had insisted that he would like to join us. I had allowed it, even though it was not within the parameters of our verbal contract and I was very suspicious that he was the sort of person that got queasy on rides.

When my brother answered the door to his apartment, the kids were standing at attention, ready for our usual ritual. I stepped over to stand in front of Chuya first. After presenting a bow, she handed me an open binder and said, "This is the one that I'm proudest of. It was extremely hard, but I still got a 93!"  
"I see. I see," I replied. "This is some very advanced math for an eight-year-old. Your teacher is really pushing you."  
I flipped through the binder, making comments on some of the other work before saying, "Your English tutor is impressed with your dedication. Your karate instructor says that you will soon be ready to test for a green belt. Please inform me when a time is scheduled. I will try to be there."  
"Yes, Aunt Akiko," she replied, accepting her binder with a bow.  
"Now, Wataru. What do you have to show me?"  
Wataru handed his binder over, bowing deeply. "Aunt, I have improved my test score by three percentage points. That puts me at the top of my class. There is still much that I can do to increase me efforts and I am determined to do even better next time."  
"This is excellent news, Wataru. Your math tutor tells me that you have redoubled your efforts and your Japanese tutor speaks highly of your poetry. I am looking forward to attending your clarinet recital, your instructor says that you have mastered a difficult piece in record time."  
I returned his binder and declared, "You have each done very well. Chuya, you can choose where we eat lunch and Wataru, you get to choose dinner. Let's have a great day at the amusement park!"  
Formalities over, the kids started jumping around and laughing. My sister-in-law, Hanae, said, "Akiko, are you going to introduce us to this man? Is he your boyfriend?"  
Her eyes were bugging out of her head, which was no surprise - she'd never been the brightest. My brother had married her for her body and long hair, not for her dismal IQ.  
"This is Jomei Date, and he isn't my boyfriend. He's more like a-"  
"I'm her boyfriend," Jomei interrupted, practically yelling. "_I am her boyfriend!_"  
"Ah well, that's… good," Hanae said. The poor woman was really struggling. I shot a warning glare at Jomei for claiming to be my boyfriend. "Akiko, come with me into the bedroom. I have some things to give you for the kids."

I followed her to the other room where she tried to give me some bandaids and sunscreen "No, no. That's not necessary. I've already got everything in here," I explained, pointing down at the pants that I was wearing. "These are special cargo pants with more pockets than usual. I have to go to a special store for construction workers to get them. They are very useful and extremely durable. A pair of pants like this will last ten years or longer."  
"Ah, yeah. Those are nice. Is that man really your boyfriend? You said he wasn't…"  
"It's wishful thinking on his part. I consider him to be a friend with benefits. I'm sure he didn't want me saying that in front of the kids. He's sensitive like that," I explained.  
"A friend with benefits? What sort of benefits are you talking about?" she asked, her eyes bugging out again.  
"Listen, Hanae. You're a married woman, you understand the benefits to be had between a man and a woman," I said. It was pathetic that I even had to explain this. "Sex. Cunnilingus. Fellatio. Some backdoor action." she made a strangled sound. "You've got two kids and you're well into your thirties. It's time to stop trying to pull off this innocent maiden act. It just doesn't work anymore. Now we've got to get going. Time is wasting."

When we got back out to the living room, Jomei was talking to my brother and the kids were putting on their shoes. "Akiko," Jomei called when he saw me. "Your niece is so cute. She looks just like you."  
"No!" Hanae cried. "She doesn't really! It's just because she insists on those braids. When her hair isn't in the braids, she looks _just like me_."  
"Oh, I see," Jomei said.  
"Let's get out of here," I said. "It's time to have some fun!"  
In the elevator, Jomei said, "Your sister-in-law is delusional. This little girl looks like a carbon copy of you. It wouldn't matter _what_ you did with her hair."  
"I know," I said, shaking my head sadly. "Hanae is just upset because neither of the children look like her. The Sera genes are just too strong."  
In the parking lot, I bent down into the back seat of the car to check that Chuya's seat belt was securely fastened.  
"Aunt Akiko," she said. "Your boyfriend is really pretty."  
"I know," I replied. "There's no getting around it. It's just the way that he is. But he works very hard at his job and that is what really matters."  
As I stood up and closed the car door, I noticed Jomei looking at me across the roof of the car with a dopey grin on his face.  
"Don't let that go to your head," I said.  
"I'll try not to," he answered. "But that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me."

After lunch we put the kids on a ride called The Children's Train. No adults were allowed and it promised tons of fun and lots of laughs. As the train left the station and disappeared into a small woods, I went to lean against a brick wall that surrounded the front of the ride area and wait for the kids.  
I faced in, looking at the trees and the grass, rather than watching the crowd of people that filled the walkways. Jomei came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I gave a little frown. "Are you trying to act like a boyfriend?" I asked. He'd been trying to hold my hand and smiling at me all day. He hadn't gotten sick on any of the rides.  
"Yes, I am," he answered. "I am also just trying to touch you. You are irresistible in those damned pants."  
"You don't get to just decide that you're my boyfriend. We have a contract. You're trying to break the rules," I said. "You're also breaking cultural norms by getting so handsy in a public place. You're out of control."  
"I told you, it's the pants," he said, his lips softly brushing my ear. "And you. You're so amazing today. I'm seeing a side of you that I never imagined."  
"We don't often get to see each other in the outdoors in the afternoon. The sunlight does look very nice on your hair, but I think you're aware of that. You've been tossing it around more than usual," I said.  
"That's not what I meant. It's nice to see you with your niece and nephew. I can tell that you will be an excellent mother." His tongue flicked out to take a little taste of my ear. I hardened my spine to prevent shivers transferring down to my lady bits.  
"Of course I will be an excellent mother. Who would have thought otherwise?" I asked. "And your behavior has long since crossed the bounds of propriety."  
"Well, I was concerned when you were yelling at an eight-year-old on the phone about contracts and homework. You can be pretty intimidating. I thought kids were probably scared of you," he said, dropping little kisses on my ear. "And if you want me to stop, you can tell me to stop. I always try to respect your wishes."  
He'd put me in a position that I didn't like. It was hard to tell him not to touch me, it felt too good. But of course, I would have to be the one to tell him to stop, he didn't have the willpower or the moral strength to do it himself. Thankfully, the train appeared out of the little stand of trees, making the decision for me so that I wouldn't be faced with failing a test of my own moral fiber. We went to collect the children as they exited the train, and then went to get ice cream.

Jomei sat on a low wall to eat his ice cream cone and the kids sat on either side of him. I sat on a chair near them, watching a clown that was dancing nearby because every time I looked at Jomei he would stare into my eyes and lick his ice cream suggestively, doing his best to try to make me think sexy thoughts. The man really had no self-control.  
As we ate a group of four teenage girls came over to me, one of them saying boldly, "Can I ask you a question?"  
"I don't know, can you?" I retorted. Are they not teaching students anything about semantics and logic these days?  
The girl rolled her eyes and plowed ahead. "Does your dad own a construction company or something like that?"  
"No," I replied. "You're mistaken. I did buy these pants at a special store for construction workers, but that does not have anything to do with my father."  
"_No_," the girl said in that annoying voice that teenagers use. "That's not what I'm talking about. Does your dad own his own company or a department store or something? Are you rich?"  
"No, my father is a research scientist. I am only rich in knowledge. Why are you asking me these questions?" I asked.  
"Because your husband is too good looking. There must be some reason that he married you," the girl said with an aggressive bravado.  
"You're mistaken. That man is not my husband. Those children are my niece and nephew. The man is my friend with benefits. But we shouldn't be having this conversation, it's going to make him start begging to be my boyfriend again. We're trying to have a fun outing here," I explained.  
Jomei was choking on his ice cream, his cheeks flushed pink either from embarrassment or the force of his coughing. The girls were jumping around, bending over laughing.  
"That guy is your friend with benefits? What the hell?" one of the girls said.  
"Do not curse in front of children," I directed.  
Jomei had gotten up from the wall, he was no longer choking. "That's enough girls, stop harassing my girlfriend. I'm with her for the braids and the pants, that all you need to know."  
The girls moved away, one of them saying, "Where did she say she got those pants?"  
Jomei gave me a hand and pulled me to my feet.  
"A fool thinks that if he says something enough times it will come true," I pointed out.  
"You've already established that I'm a fool, so I'll just keep on saying it," he said. "Come on kids, what ride do you want to do next? The carousel is just over there."  
"The carousel!" the kids yelled, jumping up to take our hands.  
As we walked Jomei fell into step beside of me. "Admit that it is nicer to be here with a boyfriend," he said.  
"That's an inaccurate question," I replied. "I'm not here with a boyfriend, so I wouldn't know."  
"Don't try to play word games with me," he lowered his voice. "I'm not acting like a fuck friend, I'm acting like a boyfriend. A fuck friend wouldn't want to spend time with you like this."  
We entered the line area for the carousel and I leaned back against the metal rails that marked the lines. I looked up at him, considering his words. "You're right," I said, hating to admit it. "It is better with a boyfriend."  
He leaned on the fence, putting a hand on either side of me. "I'm going to keep proving that everything is better with me as your boyfriend," he whispered in my ear. "I'll make sure that when you add up all the data, there is only one conclusion that you can reach."  
He pushed back and looked into my eyes for a few moments, trying to impress his seriousness on me with the heat of his gaze. I narrowed my eyes back at him, he had obviously concocted a secret plan to fool me into being his girlfriend. "It isn't going to be that simple," I warned him.  
He flashed me a rebellious smile. "I think I'm up for the challenge."

(Saturday, September 22)

"This sushi is ridiculously expensive. We should have eaten at a convenience store or I could have just made this at home," I complained. Jomei and I were at a fancy restaurant. He was trying to convince me to be his girlfriend. I was very skeptical. He wasn't my type. It was one thing to accept him as my friend with benefits and to enjoy having sex with him and another to actually date him. It felt too much like giving up a part of myself and going in the wrong direction.  
"This tastes one hundred times better than convenience store sushi. And it can't even be compared to the lump of fish and rice that you make at home," he said, grabbing another plate off of the conveyor belt.  
"My sushi doesn't have to be in a fancy shape to taste like this. The ingredients are the same. It tastes the same," I said. "I think I'm going to give this date two stars. Maybe two and a half."  
"No, you're not. This date has barely begun, it's too early to give it a rating. Now eat your food and smile and talk to me," he said.  
I shoved a piece of sushi in my mouth and smiled up at him before grimacing. "I going to Chuya's test for her green belt on Tuesday."  
"I wish that I could go with you, but it might look a little suspicious if we both took the afternoon off," he said. "Take some pictures and show them to me."  
"I can do that," I said with a frown. "Though I fail to see why you are so interested in my niece."  
"Chuya and Wataru are great kids. Whenever I look at Chuya I think of you as a child. You must have been adorable," he said with a goofy smile on his face.  
"Thanks," I muttered. Chuya _was_ adorable and there was no denying that she looked like me. So why was it that no one had thought I was cute when I was a child? I felt my stomach give a little twist as I remembered some of the times that I had been pushed to the side, forgotten or left behind because I wasn't pretty like the other children.

"Hey." I felt Jomei's hand come to rest on my thigh and looked up at him. As soon as my face was turned towards him he stole a little kiss. "Don't drift away from me. Stay with me and smile. It makes me happy when you smile at me."  
I frowned at him and said, "Don't kiss me in a restaurant. You're going to get us thrown out."  
"I like it when you frown at me to. It's always turned me on. I can still remember that first day when you walked over to talk to me and Hana. You were so angry. The look on your face, it's like it punched me in the stomach," he said in a dreamy voice.  
"Punched you in the stomach? That's romantic," I snapped, trying to get him to stop being so sappy.  
"No, like punched me in the stomach with desire. You took my breath away. I just wanted to grab you and push you to the floor and have my way with you."  
"There is something truly wrong with you."  
"Or truly right with you. Aren't you curious about where we're going next?" he asked.  
"We're going somewhere else? I thought you were just going to take me back to your apartment and push me down on the floor."  
"Don't tempt me," he said. "We're going to go to an arcade and play Dance Dance Revolution."  
"Why would we do that?" I asked, frowning at him. "I've told you before that I don't play video games."  
"Don't think you can fool me. I know the truth. Your friend Beth told me that you were some sort of DDR champion in high school. She went on and on about how amazing you are."  
I sucked in a breath. "What? Are you trying to gather information about me?"  
"Of course not, that would arouse suspicion. She volunteered the information herself. I think she was trying to make you seem more human so that I wouldn't be so afraid of you," he explained.  
"But you're not afraid of me," I said.  
"Everyone at works thinks I am. Kodama must have spread the rumor that I'm supposedly having nightmares about you," he said. "I'm sure everyone thinks it's true. I've been looking especially haggard lately since you've been keeping me up demanding orgasms several nights a week."  
"Yeah right you look haggard. You look like an ad for face cream."  
"Thanks, Akiko. It gives me chills when you give me compliments like that. After you kick my ass at DDR, I'm going to take you home and give you lots of orgasms."

_*_*_*_*_

(Monday, October 1)

I noticed as soon as Jomei let me into his apartment that he'd been busy. The table was already set with a nice looking meal and candles. There was also a small present wrapped in fancy paper next to my plate.  
"That's for you," he said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. He started dropping damp little kisses on the nape of my neck.  
"It isn't jewelry is it?" I asked, glaring at the small box suspiciously. "You should have noticed that I never wear jewelry."  
"Of course I know that you don't wear jewelry," he said, reaching out to pick up the package and put it in my hands. "Open it."  
"You're getting me all spitty," I said, slowly removing the wrapping paper from the box.  
"Don't pretend like you don't like it," he said, his hands moving up to unbutton my blouse, his mouth still wandering over the back of my neck.  
"Don't you think we should eat first? It looks like you put a lot of effort into this meal."  
"Yeah, but I want to eat naked. At a special dinner like this, the proper etiquette is to show me your nipples." Of course he was already naked.  
I hissed as he pinched my nipples between his fingers as I was opening the box. "A vegetable peeler?" I asked, picking it up.  
"I noticed that yours has gotten a little old. The blade has come loose and is wobbly. It slows you down when you're cooking and it's probably a safety concern," he explained.  
"That's a good point. This is a good gift," I said. Surprised that he hadn't given me something useless. I noticed something else in the box. "A Benjiro's gift card?"  
"Yes, that way you can get yourself whatever you want or need," he said, unzipping my pants. "Although, I would like to suggest a really short skirt for work."  
"That's not going to happen."  
"I know, but I can dream. Now let's hurry up and eat. I've got a new position for us to try."

After dinner he sat on his bed with his legs in a vee in front of him. He had me sit between his legs facing him, my own legs kicked over his thighs.  
"Thank you for the present," I said quietly. He was looking in my eyes as if I were the only thing in the world. It was making me a little breathless. "I really liked it."  
"You're welcome," he said. "I want to make you happy."  
We were sitting so close and his eyes were locked on mine, their intensity was making my heart pound and I felt a little uncomfortable, but I was also feeling excited. It was so nice to be naked and close to him, it had become my favorite place to be. I knew by his serious look that he was going to be taking things slowly. My insides shivered in anticipation and I arched towards him.  
"I haven't even touched you yet," he said with a little smile.  
"I think you need to."  
He raised his hand and stroked his thumb across my nipple, his eyes were still holding mine, watching my reaction. He just stroked my nipple once, and then moved slowly over to do the same to my other nipple. He was going too slow, I couldn't handle it. My body was tightening and straining inside. I leaned forward, cupping the back of his head in my hand and pulling him towards me for a kiss. His lips were soft and pliant, docile. He responded to my kisses but didn't do anything to push our passion forward. I was growing ever hotter, but he was holding himself in check.  
With a quiet moan of frustration, I pulled away from his mouth and sat up straight. His eyes were still on me. "Jomei. Jomei, please," I said. He brought both hands up and began a twin foray on my breasts, cupping and rubbing and squeezing my curves, pinching and twisting my nipples...slowly, so slowly. I moaned and arched into his hands until I couldn't bear it anymore. I needed more of him. I tried to lean forward to kiss him again, but he stopped me, his hands holding me back.  
As I'd moaned and twisted under his touch, I'd thrown my head back and closed my eyes again and again, but every time I'd opened them his eyes were on me. When he held me back from kissing him, his eyelids finally dropped over his eyes and he bent forward to take a nipple into his mouth.

I was so aroused that I immediately began crying out as he sucked me into his mouth and played with my nipple with his tongue. So slowly, lapping and rolling, nibbling and tugging. I put my arms around his shoulders and held him to me tightly, pressing myself rhythmically into his mouth, undulating on the bed, trying to get closer to him. But he put his hands on my waist and held me away from him as his mouth slid over to work on my other breast.  
"Jomei, it's too much. It's too much," I cried. My moans were beginning to sound more like sobs. My body was desperate for him. I ached to feel him inside of me, to press my breasts against his chest, to wrap my arms and legs around him. I wanted to taste him, to press my nose to his skin and smell his scent and his heat, to hear his moans and feel him all around me.  
He trailed a hand down to my lady bits. My body jumped as his fingers delved between my folds of skin. I was overly aroused, hypersensitive to his touch. My bits were so drenched that even the blanket beneath us was being soaked.  
"Jomei, please. I need you," I said. "I need to feel you inside of me."  
He raised his head from my breast, his eyes were still fathomless, locking onto mine. His hands went to my waist and he pulled me forward, guiding me up so that I could take his man part into me and lower myself down on him.  
I made sobbing sounds of pleasure. My legs were spread so wide, opening my body up to him. He was buried so deeply inside of me, but he didn't move. I'd pressed my face into his shoulder and I concentrated on feeling him filling me. My insides were clenching and moving around his hard length. My body wanted to move on him, but his hands were strong on my waist, holding me firmly in place.  
"Look at me," he said. I raised my head to meet his eyes. They locked onto mine and he eased his grip on my hips so that I could move. I felt as if I were only half-aware, so much of my attention was focused on how he felt inside of me. I maintained eye contact as best as I could, knowing that's what he wanted of me. I raised a hand to his chest and planted another behind me on his thigh.  
"Jomei, Jomei, Jomei…" I chanted as I began to rock myself on his shaft. His hand gripped my waist and helped me to move. He thrust his hips up to meet me as I rocked myself again and again on his hard man part. I did my best to hold his eyes with mine. Every time pleasure overtook me and made me close my eyes or throw me head back, I always went back to his eyes as quickly as I could until he was overcome with his own pleasure and we gave up trying to maintain the connection and concentrated on reaching our orgasms.  
My every breath was a moan or a cry as we worked our parts together building more and more pleasure between us, searching for release. He felt so close to me. Inside of me, surrounding me, his hands on me, his heavy breathing and moans in my ear and when I closed my eyes all that I could see was his eyes staring back at me.  
I came hard, yelling with my release, my body crashing into his, bearing down, taking everything that he would give me. Jomei thrust himself up inside of me, his orgasm following mine so quickly that he must have been waiting for me. I collapsed onto his chest, drawing in deep breaths and whimpering, holding him close. His head was on my shoulder and he was breathing heavily into my ear.  
Our breathing slowed and his man part slipped out of me. With a sigh I moved away from him, untangling from his body and we moved to lie down beneath the blanket. He wrapped his arms around me and covered my face with kisses. I tangled my fingers in his hair and smiled at him.  
"Go to sleep," he whispered. "I'm going to be waking you up later for more."

(Friday, October 5)

Stepping into a ramen restaurant, I immediately saw Jomei sitting at a table in the back. My stomach turned a little as I met his eyes and I quickly clamped down on the feeling. I could tell by the serious look on his face that this wasn't another one of his dates to convince me to be his girlfriend, but I'd known that since he'd stopped at my desk and asked me to meet him at the restaurant rather than his apartment.  
I told myself that there was no sense being worried. He couldn't force me to date him. If he wanted to call an end to things because I wouldn't agree to be his girlfriend, then so be it. I had always known that our arrangement wouldn't last forever. It was a contract that was meant to be broken. I had reminded myself of that every day.  
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked as soon as I sat down. There was no sense beating around the bush.  
"I want to know why you're refusing to date me," he said. He was used to my straightforwardness by now. It didn't even faze him.  
"I think a better question is: why do you _want_ to date me?" I retorted.  
"Why is that question more valid than mine?" he asked. I was surprised at how assertive he was being. He was usually easy going and his typical method of getting what he wanted was to be charming.  
"Because I don't see any reason to change how things are."  
"I want to be your boyfriend. I want to share more things with you, not just my bed," he said, his eyes intense. I shook my head in response. "Why is that a problem for you? Why is it so bad to share more of yourself with me?"  
"We already spend so much time together. Taking more just feels like too much…like I might be swallowed up," I said, my eyes sliding away from his. I didn't like to look weak. I didn't like showing how I really felt. I didn't want him to use my own feelings against me.  
"This isn't about time. I won't ask for more time. I want more of _you._ You're holding back. You're keeping yourself apart from me. I want you to think of me first. I want you to call me first when your happy or sad about something. I want you to open up and tell me things." His voice was gentle but firm. He wasn't going to give up easily.  
"I've already done that…" I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "I've told you things…"  
"I know and I'm very grateful when you do, but you've only told me a little," he said. "I want more. I want you to open up to me all the time, not just every once in awhile."  
"You're just asking for too much." I was starting to feel a little afraid. He wasn't backing down like he usually did. "We had a contract. We set parameters. You want me to just change everything up in my head, but I've been functioning under the rules. I can't just flip a switch and change everything."  
"We made the rules and we can change them if we want to," he said. "I want to be your boyfriend. I want to be in a normal committed relationship with you."  
"But…" I looked around the restaurant as if I could find my answer on its colorfully decorated walls.  
"But what?"  
"You're not my type," I said, stating the obvious. "And what if my perfect match shows up? It just doesn't seem right for us to date."  
"I don't know where your perfect match is, Akiko," he said levelly. "He might never be coming. I'm here and I want to be with you. I want to get closer to you. We can make a new contract - something that you're comfortable with - and if your perfect match shows up, I'll step aside. I won't stand in the way."  
"I just don't know…" It was hard to decide if it was right or not. I'd been waiting for my perfect match for so long. Dating Jomei felt like cheating. But he was right to say that my perfect match might never come. If that happened, would I look back and regret not accepting more from Jomei? If this was really my one chance to have a relationship with a man, did it make sense to just stay friends with benefits? If I wanted to experience more of the things that my friends and all the other women took for granted, this could be my only chance.  
But it scared me. It felt like jumping into the unknown. A purely physical relationship had been easy to define and understand. Dating was vague and much more complicated and I had zero experience. But it would be with Jomei. He was always kind to me, he always thought of me, he always took care of me. I didn't think that he would do anything to intentionally hurt me.  
"You deserve a real relationship. Your perfect match can't fault you for that. If he's out there, he'd want you to be happy while you're waiting for him," he said. "Make a contract with me. I'll compromise on every point, I'll give you everything you want. Just give me more of you."  
"I guess it doesn't hurt to try," I said slowly, feeling shaky and unsure. "If it doesn't work out then we can go back to the original contract or something."  
"It's going to work out," he said with a reassuring smile. "I'll make sure of it."


	6. Chapter 6 - Dating

(Friday, October 26)

"Cheers," Jomei said with a big smile and we clinked our glasses together. "Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication, Miss Sera. There's no way this project would have been a success without you."  
"Thank you, Mr. Date," I said, taking a sip of my beer. "But I think you're jumping the gun, this project hasn't been a success yet."  
"You're splitting hairs. We've conquered the bulk of the work. The program runs. From here on out it will be smooth sailing," he said. He was in high spirits after a test run of our program had performed very well this evening. His eyes were shining and his cheeks were flushed. He looked like he needed a kiss.  
"I think you're being overly optimistic _and_ in the end we may be doing all of this programming for nothing. Ms. Mihara could just tell us to fuck off," I reminded him.  
"You always have to be the evil voice of reason," he said, his smile taking the sting out of the words. "It doesn't matter what Ms. Mihara says or does, I got what I wanted out of this project. It let me spend more time with you, so that you could get to know me a little better and let me into your bed."  
"I always knew you were a sneaky bastard," I said.  
"_I'm_ sneaky?" he asked, feigning innocence. "You're the one who's been spying on me in the coffee mirror all this time."  
"Someone had to keep an eye on you and don't even think of asking for another round of 'Tell Me a Secret'," I said with a warning glance. "If I have to hear another secret like you putting folded paper in your shoes to make yourself look taller all through middle school, I might have to break up with you."  
"Don't blame me for my deceitfulness," he replied. "I was young and I hit my growth spurt late."  
"It's the vanity that bothers me," I said with a sad shake of my head that made him laugh.  
"Tell me what you were like in high school."  
"I thought Beth already told you. I was the DDR champion," I reminded him, trying to avoid the question.  
He looked gently into my eyes and said, "I know you were more than that."  
"It isn't happy, I don't think we should talk about it. We're supposed to be celebrating our victory."  
"I want to know all of you, happy and sad."  
"I just didn't fit in," I said with a shrug, trying to be emotionless about it. "I had my friends - and they're still my friends - but even with them I didn't quite fit. I didn't have the things that it takes to be like everyone else. I wasn't pretty, I was too serious, I just...I just didn't get the way that everyone functioned. It never made sense to me. I loved DDR because it was such a fun challenge, but in the end I hated it. It made everyone pay attention to me for short bursts. I'd be the center of attention while I was competing against a rival school, and then everyone would immediately go back to ignoring me...or making fun of me."  
"I think you're pretty," he said with a smile.  
"You don't have to say that," I said, looking away uncomfortably.  
"I'm not. I love to look at you. Seeing you makes me feel so many things," he said. "It always makes me happy."  
"You said I was an anomaly, but you're the anomaly."  
"I'm fine with that. I'm very happy with that. If everyone else is too stupid to see you, it just means that you are all mine."  
I watched the play of emotions across his face. He seemed to be telling the truth. I remembered that first night when he was kissing me behind the bush, he's said that I was all his even then. The waiter came by and I ordered another beer.  
Jomei raised his eyebrows. "You're having three?"  
"It's a celebration," I said with a smile. "And I'm hoping you'll take advantage of me."  
"I'd like to take advantage of you right now. I love it when you let your sense of humor show. Don't take too long to drink that beer. We need to continue the celebration back at your apartment."  
"What were you like in high school?" I asked.  
"Happy," he replied. "Oblivious. Just like you would say: obsessed with lotion and clothes."  
"Why did I even ask?" I said with a shake of my head.  
"I remember fondly the first time that I saved up all of my allowance money and bought myself an expensive bottle of lotion," he said with a mischievous look. "It was the kind with glitter in it. I wore it to school every day. I was so happy to sparkle under the fluorescent lights. Everyone said that I looked like a movie star, and they were right."  
"Stop it," I said with a laugh. "When you're being silly it makes me want to kiss you and I can't kiss you in a restaurant. Save your glitter jokes for later."  
He twisted his smile into a fake pout. "Now I feel deprived. I'm supposed to get kisses but you're holding them back."  
I sighed. "Be good and keep your hands to yourself and I'll kiss your man part when we get back to my apartment."  
"Always withholding and rewarding. I feel like I'm in some sort of behavior experiment."  
"Are you complaining?"  
"No. I'm enjoying it."

By the time we got into my apartment we were both panting. I'd pulled him behind two bushes and stopped him in the stairwell for kisses. His tie was askew and his shirt was half-unbuttoned. As soon as the door closed, I pushed up him against the wall and finished removing his dress shirt and undershirt.  
When his chest was exposed to me, I began kissing his hot skin and pressing soft bites around his nipples while I swirled over them with my tongue. I put my hand between his legs to stroke and squeeze his man part through his pants, enjoying the way his hardness felt against my hand. Jomei was making the moaning sounds that I liked so much. His hands were trying to get to my blouse to undo my buttons.  
"Get ready for me, man part. I'm going to come down there and kiss you all over," I said happily.  
"_Akiko_," Jomei said, in the warning voice that he used to let me know that I was getting too weird, but I didn't care at all.  
"Take your pants off," I said and stepped away from him to strip my own clothes off. "I want to see your man part now."  
When he was naked, I pushed him back against the wall and dropped to my knees to start licking and kissing his thighs and over his lower belly, everywhere but his man part. I was enjoying teasing him, the taste and feel of his skin on my tongue was making my nipples buzz and my lady bits tingle. He'd cupped my head in his hands and was trying to guide my mouth to his part, but I was having none of that. I sank my teeth into his thigh, a little too firmly to be gentle, in order to punish him. He let out a little cry and then moaned as I licked over the place where I had bit him.  
Pushing his man part up against his stomach and out of my way, I rubbed it gently while carefully licking his balls. When his moans began to sound a little more desperate, I licked my way to the base of his part and addressed it, "Are you ready now?"  
I made happy yummy noises as I kissed and licked my way up his shaft to the tip, being sure to be extra spitty. When I reached the top, I flicked my tongue several times on his frenulum. "Jomei," I said, looking up to meet his eyes. "You always taste even better than I remember."  
"Just, please…" he said, his words fading away as I took the head of his part into my mouth and played with it with my tongue and lips. I could tell that I was making him go a little crazy and it was making me feel happy and powerful. I slid my lips down, taking in as much of him as possible before backing up to the head and then pushing back down again, working my lips and tongue on him just like he'd taught me to on that first weekend.  
I could feel pleasure building to a fever pitch within him by the way he moved his body, tugged at my head and moaned. Before he got too close to an orgasm, I pulled my mouth away from him and dropped him from my hand. "Sorry, man part. I'm not going to be able to drink your seed tonight," I said.  
"What?" Jomei asked, confused.  
"Get on the bed," I replied. He blinked a couple of times and then went to lie down on my bed.

I followed behind him, snatching the rubber bands out of my hair and quickly running my fingers through my hair to remove my braids. Climbing onto the bed, I moved to straddle Jomei and slowly rubbed my wet lady bits over his hard length. I looked at him and smiled to let him know how much I enjoyed the feel of him. "Pull my hair," I directed.  
"What? Are you sure?" he asked.  
"Just do what I tell you to do." I answered. As he tangled his fingers into my hair, I placed the head of his part at my entrance and pushed down until I was firmly seated upon him. I moved slowly, focusing on the way that he felt inside of me and the feelings that moved in my stomach and over my skin.  
"Now!" I hissed and he started tugging at my hair. "That's not hard enough…" He pulled harder and I moaned as the pain pleasure flood through me. I moved faster on his shaft as his fingers worked in my hair, making the good feelings build up stronger and stronger in me until I pulled away from his hands and sat up.  
I needed a better angle so that I could move faster and harder on him. I moved until I found the best position with the maximum amount of stimulation for my lady bits. "Pinch my nipples," I said, and began to work myself on him as hard and as fast as I could manage while his fingers tugged and twisted my nipples.  
I could feel the orgasm building inside of me, my body was tightening and straining towards it. "_Akiko_," Jomei called. He knew that I was close and he pinched my nipples harder, thrusting his hips up forcefully to bury himself deeply inside of me. The orgasm struck and I fell down onto his chest, arching and twisting against his hot skin, crying out with pleasure. My mouth found his shoulder and I bit down, working my lady bits against him to continue stimulating myself, forcing the last dregs of good feelings from my body. His hands moved down to grab my hips, and he thrust himself up into me several more times before he found his release.  
I rolled off of him, smiling and gasping. "That was amazing."  
"What _was_ that?" he asked. "What was with all the biting?"  
"Don't pretend like you didn't like it," I said.  
"And where did you learn to suck my cock like that? I didn't teach you that stuff."  
"You're not the only one who can look up information about parts on your phone," I said. "After we take a shower, I'm going to toss your salad."  
"What the hell?! No you're not." he said firmly, as if he could scare me. "No more beer for you. You've gone crazy."  
"You don't tell me what to do!" I snapped. "Now get in the shower!"

(Sunday, November 25)

"Asas, what have you done?!" I hissed at my brother. Over his shoulder I could see my father getting up from the couch and my mother coming into the room from the kitchen. As my brother gave me a confused look, Jomei stepped into the apartment behind me and closed the front door.  
"Akiko!" my mother said, rushing over to give me a hug. "Hanae just told me that you have a boyfriend, but you never told me on the phone!"  
"Out of the way," my father said, pushing Asas and my mother aside and standing in front of me. "Akiko, if you were dating a man, you should have informed us immediately. It does not look good that you have hidden him from us."  
My sister-in-law, Hanae, had come into the room and was watching with triumph in her eyes. I felt like screaming at her, but I held myself back. Instead I introduced Jomei to my parents. He was as polite and charming as usual, making my mother smile and my father frown suspiciously. My father was just like me. He wasn't going to be fooled by Jomei's smooth words.  
We all went and sat on the floor around the table in the living room where Hanae had arranged a couple of trays of appetizers. As soon as everyone had settled into their spots, my father looked at Jomei and directed, "Pull up the app on your phone and show me how much money you have in your checking and savings accounts."  
"Dad!" I raised my voice to make sure he was listening to me and leaned across the table toward him. "That isn't necessary for two reasons: 1. Jomei is just my _casual_ boyfriend. I am not going to marry him, and 2. Any idiot can see that this man spends all of his money on clothes. Don't make him embarrass himself by showing you his accounts. That's just bad manners!"

"What in the hell is a casual boyfriend?!" my father roared. "You date someone to see if you want to marry them! That's the only reason! If you aren't going to marry this man, you're wasting your time! Dump him immediately and find another boyfriend! He is scaring away prospective suitors!"  
"This man," I indicated Jomei with my thumb, "is not scaring anyone! And I will date who I want, when I want and how I want! This is my life!"  
"You have a familial obligation to find a mate, get married and produce my grandchildren! You are in your thirties! You have already failed to meet the goals and expectations that were set for you when you graduated from college! I have shown more than enough patience, but you are slapping your mother and I in the face by _casually_ dating this man!"  
Before I could answer, Hanae slapped her hand down hard on the table. "I've figured it out!" she announced. "He's a fake boyfriend! She hired him to make it look like she has a marriage prospect! Women are doing it all the time! I saw it on tv!"  
"That doesn't make any sense, Hanae!" I yelled at her. "If I was trying to pretend that he was a marriage prospect, why would I say that _I'm not_ going to marry him?!"  
"Oh," she said before quickly smacking her hand on the table again and pointing at me accusingly. "He's one of those fake boyfriends that women hire when they don't have anyone to date and they're lonely!" She turned to my father and said confidently, "He's not a real boyfriend. She's just hiring him to take her on fake dates because no one else will."  
"That is not true!" I yelled.  
"Look at him," she continued triumphantly. "He's obviously too good looking for her! He's probably a failed actor and this is the only job that he can get."  
"He's not even my type!" I argued. "Look at him! Do you think that I would choose this man if I could go through a catalog and choose any guy I wanted?!"  
"He's perfectly handsome!" she yelled back at me. "Don't try to pretend that you don't find him attractive when the last time you were here you were talking about '_benefits_'!"  
"Attractive and marriage material are two different things! I don't-Wait a minute! Are you showing him your accounts?!" I swung around to see Jomei holding his cell phone up for my father to see.

"Decent, decent," my father said, adjusting his glasses. "It probably should be better. It _is_ obvious that you spend too much time in shopping malls. But you have provisional approval to marry Akiko pending my review of your IQ, university entrance exam scores and your university transcripts. You can fax those to me here." My father handed Jomei his business card.  
"That isn't fair!" I yelled. "Hanae didn't have to submit her IQ and scores!"  
"Why does it even matter if you aren't going to marry him?" she asked snarkily.  
"I'm _not_ going to marry him, but if I _were_ going to I would expect fair treatment! The only standard that Jomei has to meet is working at or above the level of _an office temp with an_ _associate's degree_! He's a manager, so he's automatically accepted!" I declared.  
"Don't bother saving a date for the wedding, Mother," Hanae said. "He's just an actor pretending to be her boyfriend to boost her self esteem!"  
"Don't you bring my mother into this! And don't you lie to her either!" I looked over at my mother who was sitting quietly next to my father as usual. "He's my real boyfriend, Mom. We do all the things that boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to do."  
Hanae made a gagging sound. "He must be a gigolo then! You must be spending all of your savings on a gigolo! How pathetic!"  
"That isn't true! Asas! Control your wife!" I demanded. My brother just sat quietly next to her, as usual.  
"Akiko!" my father barked. "Show me your savings account! Now!"  
"Why? You think I'm _paying _Jomei to have sex with me?! You have got to be joking!" I screamed.  
"Oh dear," my mother said.  
"You're upsetting Mom," my brother interrupted.  
"_Your wife_ is upsetting Mom with all of her lies!"  
"Akiko, show me your savings and checking account amounts _immediately!_" my father demanded.  
"_God dammit_!" I pulled up my app and passed my phone to my father before turning back to Hanae. "This is all your fault! You invited my parents here without telling me and then made up lies about Jomei being a fake boyfriend! You are going to have to be _sanctioned_!"  
"Sanctioned?" she tossed her long hair. "How in the hell do you think _you _are you going to sanction _me_?"  
I stared at her and said in a deadly serious voice, "I'm going hands off the kids."

There were a few seconds of shocked silence and then everyone looked to my father to bring me back in line.  
"How can you threaten the children like that?!" he yelled. "Are you going to throw away your familial responsibilities entirely?! This will not be allowed!"  
"This woman," I pointed at Hanae, "sits at home all day doing her nails while _I_ manage her children's education. Asas, our mother spent _all of her time_ getting you through school with decent grades and you allow your wife to do _nothing_. It's fine to just let me take care of it because everyone thinks I'm an old maid! Well I'm not! No one came to my defense when Hanae was telling all of those lies, but everyone wants to push all of the work onto me!"  
I felt Jomei's hand on my back and he leaned in to say quietly, "I think you should calm down. You don't want to say anything more that you will regret later." He looked over at my father and said, "I think we all know that Akiko has a bad temper. She loves the children very much and would never do anything to jeopardize their wellbeing or their futures. But she has a point. It isn't right for her to take on too many of Hanae's responsibilities. She has a career and her own life to live. And just to make it clear, I _am not_ a hired boyfriend."  
Jomei's hand on my back moved to my waist, pulling me closer to him. My father looked at us darkly, he was against any form of public display of affection, but I didn't care. Jomei had stood up for me during an argument with my family and no one had ever done that before. Asas was the one who always got preferential treatment and leniency, I was the one who was supposed to do everything right and bear every burden.  
"We haven't been dating long," Jomei said as everyone remained quiet. "We'll talk about marriage another time." He was digging a hole that I would have to fix later, but that was okay because he was helping me now.  
"I still don't get it," Hanae grumbled.  
"It's the braids," he said with a shrug as if that answered everything.  
"Tell me about your job and your potential career path," my father said.  
"Mom, I think something's burning in the kitchen," Asas said.  
"Of course it is," Jomei muttered and began telling my father about his career plans.

(Monday, December 24)

"I want to apologize to you, Akiko," Ms. Mihara began. She'd called me into her office first thing in the morning without giving me a reason. "I know that you must feel like you should have been given the Purchasing Manager position. It's important to me that you know that I didn't just forget about you. You've worked very hard and you are one of the strongest and most dependable employees that we have. But I didn't think giving you the Purchasing Manager job was the right decision. The people in Purchasing already rely on you too much. They play at incompetence in order to get you to do their work for them. As their manager, this would have continued. You aren't afraid to take on too many responsibilities, and you would have ended up vastly overburdened, doing nearly everything on your own. A manager needs to guide and facilitate, not do the work herself."  
"I see."  
"There's also the question of your temper. At times it can get the best of you. A situation in which you were doing far too much of the work and your subordinates were slacking would have been a powder keg waiting to go off at all times."  
"Yes," I said tightly, wanting to ask her why she had called me up here months later to explain to me why she had given Jomei the job instead of me. This was a waste of my time.  
"But, I do have a position in which your knowledge and skills and even your temper are greatly needed," she said. "Igarashi has resigned. He was having trouble adapting to some of the changes that we have been making within the company and decided he would rather work at a small company in the country. I would like you to take over his position and manage the warehouse. If we're going to implement this program that you and Date have built, I'll need someone strong down there who isn't afraid of change and computers. Someone who can yell at delivery men when it's necessary."  
I stared at her for a moment in shock as my mind made the change from irritated to happy. "I appreciate the offer," I said, "but are you sure that you just want to give me the position? You don't want to conduct interviews?"  
"I know that it isn't standard and there will be those who say it isn't fair, but in this case I'm going to bend the rules one more time. You are the perfect person for the job. Conducting interviews would just be a waste of time - I think that's a concept that you can agree with," she said with a smile. "I want you down in the warehouse with Igarashi starting today. He was only able to give us a one week notice because the other company needs him badly. I want you to learn as much as you can from him before he leaves."

I thanked her again and walked out of her office in a daze. My heart was pounding as I walked down the hallway toward the elevator. I suddenly stopped and looked around. I needed to tell Jomei privately. When I got back down to Purchasing, I'd have to talk to him like we didn't even like each other. I was standing in the hall where the meeting rooms were. After making sure that no one was around, I ducked into one and dialed Jomei's desk on my cell phone.  
"Purchasing, this is Date," he said.  
"Jomei! It's me, Akiko," I whispered into the phone.  
"Why are you whispering?" he asked.  
"Shhh, don't give any hints that you're having a weird conversation," I said. "I'm in the meeting room that smells like old cheese, the one that no one ever uses. Come up here and-"  
I looked down at my phone. He'd hung up on me.  
A few minutes later he slipped into the room and locked the door behind him. He was winded and his hair was in disarray. "Okay!" he said. "I am so glad that we are finally going to do this."  
He came at me and hustled me against the wall, his lips searching for mine.  
"Jomei! Stop it! What are you doing?"  
Pulling back, his eyes searched mine. "You didn't call me up here for some naughty office sex?"  
"No I didn't!" I hissed at him. "I called you up here to talk! I can't believe you thought I was going to have sex with you _at work in the stinky cheese room!_"  
"Oh. I see. Why do we need to talk in here?"  
"Because I just got a promotion! I'm the new Warehouse Manager!" I smiled happily up at him.  
"Oh God!" he said, putting his hand over his eyes. "Don't smile at me like that! It's too cruel! I'm so happy that you got a promotion! I'm so proud of you!"  
"Stop covering your eyes you dimwit! Give me a hug!"  
"Oh yeah," he said and moved to wrap me in his arms. His lips dropped little kisses on my forehead, but I didn't complain. "This is so amazing. _You_ are so amazing!"  
"I know! Ms. Mihara just gave it to me without an interview or anything! I'm concerned that she might have early onset dementia, but today I don't care!" I held him tight and breathed in his warm familiar scent.  
"God, we have to celebrate," Jomei breathed in my ear. "I want to make love to you all night, but we'll have to have a dinner with Purchasing this evening. Maybe you can act all mean and they won't insist on going to a bar and then karaoke after the meal."  
"Hey, I _like_ karaoke! And keep your hands to yourself!"  
"Dammit, Akiko! _Fine!_ We'll go to dinner and a bar and karaoke, but no alcohol and we are going to a love hotel as soon as we can sneak away!"


	7. Chapter 7 - Happiness

(Thursday, December 27)

"Now that you're no longer my subordinate, we need to announce our relationship at work." Jomei said as a waiter set our food in front of us. We were playing with fire by eating at a restaurant only a couple of blocks from work. He'd insisted on taking me out to eat _one more time_ to celebrate my promotion. I realized that maybe he wanted us to be spotted.  
"Announce our relationship?" I rolled my eyes at him. "You have delusions of grandeur. Maybe if you just give it a little more time the paparazzi will get a shot of you groping me in the park and put an article in the monthly newsletter."  
"I'm not trying to get attention. I just want to stop hiding our relationship. I want to go to work with you and leave work with you, not split up somewhere along the way."  
"It's nice to have time to breathe and collect my thoughts without the constant worry that you are going to do something sexual to me in a public place. I'm starting to develop a phobia of bushes," I said, frowning at him so that he knew I was being serious.  
"You're exaggerating. Stop trying to make me into some sort of lecher."  
"A lecher? Now we're getting somewhere closer to the truth. You think that if we're officially in a relationship I won't be able to file a complaint against you for constantly sending me sexts and dick pics during work hours."  
"Constantly?" he asked, raising his pretty eyebrows.  
"I have no idea how Purchasing hasn't completely fallen apart since I left. Their manager spends all of his time in the bathroom playing with himself and recording it for posterity."  
"Don't even pretend that you don't like sexting. _I_ _know you_."  
"During work hours, Jomei? It's not fun to sit in a meeting with wet lady parts."  
"I thought I told you not to say 'lady parts' anymore. It creeps me out."  
"We're in a public place. I for one like to watch my language when anyone could overhear us. And you can't act like it's cute one minute and creepy the next. Make up your mind."  
"It's your fault for _being_ creepy-cute. I think you need to be punished. I'm going to take you out to the alley and fuck you against the wall."  
"Stop trying to make up excuses to enact your sick fantasies. I'm not having sex with you in an alley."  
"Well, there is no way that I am going to make it home, so you can choose the alley or the bathroom."  
"I choose the bathroom. Have fun in there. Don't bother taking any pictures or videos, I have plenty."  
"God dammit. We are going to that love hotel at the end of the block."  
"This is why your savings account is so abysmal. You have no self-control."

"Wait a minute, don't take your clothes off," I said when we stepped into our room at the love hotel. "I want to do it against the wall. Let's pretend like we're in the alley."  
Laughing happily, he back me up against the wall. "Does that mean that I get to pretend like I'm punishing you for being creepy?"  
"As long as you understand that I'm not really going to change the way I talk for you."  
"Mmhmm." He dropped kisses trailing from the base of my neck towards my mouth. "I've noticed that you have a problem with change. I can live with that. For now just do what I tell you to do."  
"Okay." I moved my mouth to trap his lips with mine, he'd been taking too long to reach them. Sometimes when he kissed me I felt as if he were breathing life into me. My entire body would come alive and tingle and focus on nothing but him. I held him tightly to me and sucked his lower lip into my mouth to stroke it with my tongue.

His hands were working at undoing my braids. There'd been a lot more hair pulling since the night I had too much to drink. Now Jomei was often eager to let my hair down. He pulled his lip from my mouth as my hair came loose and tangled his fingers through the strands. "This reminds me of the first time we kissed," he said. "Thank you so much for letting me in your life."  
He lips sought mine again and he kissed me until I felt dizzy, tugging gently at my hair as his tongue explored my mouth. My heart pounded, pushing desire through my veins. All of my body wanted him. My arms demanded that I hold him tightly, my fingers cried out to touch his skin and his hair, my breasts ached to be pressed against him, to have his hands on them. My thighs longed to cradle his body as he fit perfectly against me, and my stomach and lady part wanted to feel him thrusting deep inside of me.  
I pulled my lips from his, gasping breathlessly and said, "This doesn't feel like a punishment, it feels like a reward." Although, I was regretting suggesting that we leave our clothes on. He was wearing far too many layers on his upper body - an undershirt, a dress shirt and a sweater - my hands were aching to touch much more of his skin. Maybe that was punishment enough.  
"I'm getting to it," Jomei said and knelt to remove my tights and underwear and press kisses to my knees. "I love your legs in tights. I love it in the summer when you don't need tights and I can just touch your legs. I just love your legs."  
"You are really bad at punishing," I said with a happy sigh, writhing a bit as his tongue played over my lower thigh below the hem of my skirt.  
"Give me some time to practice," he said, standing up and looking down into my eyes. "I'll get better at it. What do you want? Do you want spanked?"  
His hands skimmed up under my skirt, rubbing over my thighs and then cupping and squeezing my behind. His touch and his words made the ache inside of me spike in intensity. "Yes," I said. "I want you to spank me and then push your man part in me really hard and fast. Right now."  
"'Man part'? Now you _are_ getting punished," he said, pulling me from the wall and bending me over a nearby table. He flipped my skirt up to bare my behind and I wiggled and bounced a little in anticipation. "Stop being so eager! You're supposed to be afraid."  
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from giggling. I waited in quiet anticipation for the first strike of his hand, and when it came I was not disappointed. Mild pain stung my butt and immediately translated itself into good sexy feelings that moved through my body like a wave and made me moan loudly. "Oh God yes," I sighed. "Do it more and harder and pull my hair at the same time."  
His fingers twisted themselves in my hair and started pulling while he spanked me with stinging slaps. Each strike raised my arousal level higher and higher, by the time he'd reached ten swats I felt as if I were going to burst.  
"Stop," I said breathlessly, standing up. "Stop. I need…" - I paused to pull my thoughts together to make things right for him. - "I need your cock in my pussy. I need you to fuck me so hard. Please, Jomei."

It had been a mistake to leave our clothes on. I was desperate for all of him and was going to have to make do with bits and pieces. He gave me a smile and began unfastening his belt. I hurriedly unbuttoned my blouse and opened the front closure on my bra - something that I hadn't been able to buy at Benjiro's, but replacing all of my bras had been worth every penny - dropping both pieces of clothing to the floor.  
He came to me, pushing me against the wall and lifting my leg and pressing his part to my throbbing wet lady bits. I was so aroused that my bits were too sensitive, feeling him pushing up inside of me was a torturous ecstacy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight, my body jumping and twitching as it tried to adjust to the too intense feel of him inside of me. "Oh God! Oh God!" I cried, too loud and too close to his ear, moaning and sobbing as he filled me completely, gravity helping him to get a little deeper than normal.  
He took my leg and wrapped it around his hip and then began rocking himself against my body. His thrusts were hard and so deep, filling me with pleasure as I clung to him. It felt amazingly good, in the unfamiliar new position I felt almost trapped, forced to accept a pleasure that was almost too much for me to bear. I began shrieking over and over, pushing my nipples into the softness of his sweater, tangling my fingers in his hair and just letting go to all of the strong feelings that were coursing through me.  
When my orgasm came it was very hard. My body clenched at Jomei and I arched against him, straining and screaming in ecstacy. I felt his release following closing after mine as my body began to let go of the built up tension and relax. Black spots appeared before my eyes and I felt myself go limp against him.

"Akiko, damn!" His voice was far away. I felt him wrap his arms around me and he moved me over to lie on the bed. He was gone from me for a moment and then back again, wiping at my face and chest with a cool wet cloth. I sucked in little gasps of air. "You're okay, you're okay," he said over and over, his assurance for both me and himself.  
The haze and the fuzzy feeling finally began to recede. "I think I'm okay now," I said, reaching for him. He tossed the cloth away and lay down next to me, pulling me into his arms.  
"You scared me," he said, pressing little kisses all over my face. "Don't do that again."  
I smiled and said, "I think _you_ did that to _me_. That was amazing."  
"Mmm. I think too much stimulation is bad for you. We'll have to stick to boring sex from now on," he said. "But I must admit that I loved the sound of you screaming in my ear. That really was the best. I really enjoy being a part of you discovering your sexual self - that may sound awkward - but I feel like it's a privilege."  
"First of all, take all of these shirts off, I need to feel you against me," I said, unzipping my skirt and kicking it off. "Second, we are not sticking to boring sex. We have to keep roleplaying because we are obviously really bad at it. I need to master things, not just give up. And third, thank you for helping me to discover my 'sexual self'. _You_ are the best." I smiled up at him as he shucked his shirts.  
"As long as you promise not to pass out or nearly pass out again," he said. "And we really need to stop having sex with our clothes on. That cheap Benjiro's fabric is starting to give me a rash."

_*_*_*_*_

(Friday, December 28)

"_Cheers_!" I clinked glasses with my three closest friends. We were out at a bar celebrating my promotion. It was very nice to finally be the one who had good news to share, and it wasn't over yet.  
"I have an announcement," I said seriously. "I have a boyfriend."  
"Really?" Beth asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "That's great!"  
"Akiko! I'm so happy for you!" Aoi said sweetly.  
"Awesome, Girl." Yukako said with her lazy smile. "It's about time."  
"Give us _all_ the details. How did you meet, what does he look like, _everything_!" Aoi insisted. She'd been married for several years and was always interested in hearing romantic drivel from other women.  
Looking at Beth, I said, "It's Date. We've been keeping it a secret because he was my boss."  
Beth choked on her beer, completely stunned. We'd obviously done a good job keeping our relationship hidden from everyone. "_Jomei_ Date? The _purchasing manager_?"  
"Yeah, of course," I answered. "What other boss did I have?"  
"You've been secretly dating your boss? I'm proud of you. There's nothing better than forbidden fruit. Please tell me you're getting laid," Yukako said.  
"Yukako, really!" Aoi snapped and then turned to me "A secret office romance is so...romantic. You get to see each other every day and give each other little looks..."  
"This is him, guys." Beth held up her phone and showed them the screen. "He's _gorgeous_."  
"Is that his FindFriend?" I asked with a frown.  
"Is he a model? He's beautiful!" Aoi squealed, her eyes glued to the screen.  
"Fuck me, how did you land this guy?" Yukako asked.  
"He's not a model, he's just addicted to taking selfies in his fancy clothes," I explained. "And I didn't do anything. He was just obsessed with having sex with me."  
"He was obsessed with having sex with you?" Beth asked, looking mystified. "That's how you started dating?"  
"Oh man!" Yukako guffawed. "That is the best thing I've ever heard!"  
"First we tried a sex weekend so he could get me out of his system. Then we tried being friends with benefits, but it wasn't long before he was whining about wanting to be my boyfriend," I said with a shrug.  
"Do you have a picture of the two of you together?" Beth asked suspiciously. "You're not even on his FindFriend."  
"That's because we've been keeping things secret. This is the official announcement. You know I'm not much of a picture person, but Jomei takes them all the time. He's obsessed with his own good looks. I'll have him send me a pic." I picked up my phone and sent Jomei a text.  
"So how long has this been going on?" Beth wanted to know.  
"July thirteenth is when we first hooked up," I answered.  
"_July thirteenth?! That long ago?! _This is crazy!" Beth's eyes were bugging out. "_Everyone_ at work thinks you two hate each other. People have placed bets about how long it will take before you lose it entirely and hit him."  
"They should keep their bets. I would be hitting him right now if he was here. I asked for a pic of us together, not a bunch of sexts. Here's the pic." I held up my phone so they could see a selfie of Jomei and I together in the park near his apartment.  
"Oh I can't take it! It's so cute!" Aoi was squealing again.  
"I still can't believe it. You've been dating all this time and no one even noticed," Beth said, shaking her head in disbelief.  
"This calls for a _real_ celebration, Akiko. A promotion _and_ a hot guy? You should drink four or even five drinks tonight!" Yukako said, signaling the waiter to come to our table.  
"Nope. Jomei's waiting for me at home. I promised him that I would only drink one or two. He says I get too aggressive in bed if I have more than that," I said with a shrug.

(Saturday, January 12)

"Why are we here? This seems boring. It's so much easier to shop at Benjiro's and the convenience store." I was walking with Jomei through a fancy shopping mall.  
"I need socks. And you're here because I like having you with me. It makes everything better. That's what dating is about," he said. "Why do I have to keep explaining this to you?"  
"There is no way that you need socks. I have seen your sock drawer. You have enough socks for your entire apartment building."  
"I got a new pair of shoes and I don't have socks in the right shade of blue to match them. Stop complaining," he said. "This won't take long at all. Then we can go see a movie or something."  
"'Or something'? You're as lax as usual," I complained. "It would have been a better use of time if we had decided on the movie beforehand and already purchased the tickets."  
"Maybe we won't go to a movie. Let's just live free and do whatever we feel like doing today."  
"This sounds like a plot to get me to have sex with you behind a bush."

While Jomei laughed, I noticed a backpack on display in a shop window.  
"Look at this backpack," I said excitedly. "It's perfect for my nephew. It has a cushioned interior pocket for carrying a laptop or tablet. A special protected pouch so that your snacks don't get smashed and a tracking device that even keeps a log of everywhere the student has been. I'm going to buy this for him when he starts middle school."  
"That's exactly what every teenage boy wants, to be tracked by his parents and his aunt," he said sarcastically.  
"It's a _safety_ feature." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wonder if they make briefcases."  
"Why would you need to track me?" he asked. "We work together."  
"I'd have a record of just how often you're shopping for clothes and skincare products. I know you're giving me a low estimate."  
"I don't carry a briefcase when I go shopping."  
"Hmmm. I'm pretty sure you'd like to carry a man purse," I looked through the shop window to see what other products they might have. "I saw you eyeing the one that guy was carrying on the train the other day and imagining how good it would look on you."  
"What are you talking about? I wasn't doing that."  
"Don't bother denying it," I snapped. "It's _so_ obvious when you're lying."  
"Regardless, I'm pretty sure they don't sell man purses with tracking devices in them."  
"I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of gay men out there with tendencies towards jealousy."  
"I _told you_ that man purses are for _all _men, _not just gay men_."  
"Well that guy on the train-"

"JOMEI!"  
A woman who was all big curly hair, jewelry and a short dress was bouncing and hugging Jomei. "Oh my God! I am so glad that I ran into you! It's been so long!"  
"Hachi," he said. "Hi. I didn't know you were back in Japan."  
I felt my skin going cold as I watched the woman touching his arm and smiling huge toothy smiles at him.  
"Yes! I've only been back for a couple of weeks. I've been getting settled in. Europe was _crazy_! I mean _really_! We should go get a coffee and catch up!" she squealed. "I want to tell you about _everything_!"  
Jomei glanced down at me uncomfortably. I gave him a nod. I wasn't supposed to be standing in his way. I could feel our contract falling apart as I trailed after the two of them to a coffee shop several doors down. When we arrived, I offered to put the order in so that they could start talking. I stood at the counter and waited for the coffees to be made, staring at the menu the whole time, my stomach twisting in knots. I didn't want to look at them together. They looked like a poster: two perfect people in a coffee shop.  
When I carried the coffee to the table and sat down, Hachi was telling a story about a modeling job and the ridiculously huge and out of control party that she went to afterwards. Jomei was staring at her as if he couldn't take his eyes off of her. When she finally stopped talking to take a breath and a sip of her drink, Jomei turned to me with eyes that looked shellshocked. I decided to go ahead and start asking the questions that were on my mind. There was no reason to wait.

"Did you date this woman?"  
She looked at me and said, "what?", but neither Jomei nor I looked at her.  
"Yes," he said.  
"Do you have naked pictures of her?" I asked.  
"_Of course not_," he snapped. "Why would I have naked pictures her?"  
"She's a model and you're always saying the human body is an art form," I reminded him. He wasn't going to weasel his way out of my questions by playing dumb.  
"I'm not that kind of model!" Hachi cried. I ignored her.  
"That's just something I say to you," Jomei said. "I only want pictures of you."  
"Hmph. How long did you date?" I asked.  
"Almost two years."  
"Why did you break up?"  
"She left the country for work."  
"If she hadn't, would you still be together?"  
He looked at her, contemplating his answer. She was waiting for it expectantly with a big smile on her face.  
"Probably. We probably would have gotten married.-" She squealed with delight and said, "Oh, Jomei! _Really_?" "- That would have been a nightmare," he said with a sigh.  
"Why a nightmare?" I asked.  
"Because I would have had to get a divorce as soon as I met you, and there's no way your father is going to let you marry a divorced man."  
"I'd have married you anyway, I wouldn't let my father's old fashioned ideas get in my way."  
"Does that mean you're going to marry me?" he asked, his voice hopeful.  
"No. We're speaking hypothetically," I reminded him.  
"Why won't you marry me?"  
"You're not my type."  
"Why? Because I carry a man purse?"  
"You don't have a man purse."  
"I ordered one online. It should arrive today."  
"That's the reason. Not the purse. The fact that you bought it."  
"So you won't marry me because I have good fashion sense."  
"More or less."  
"Why would that even matter?"  
"It's a long term goal thing," I explained. "I don't want to worry that the father of my children is secretly spending all of our money on lotion and socks."  
"You know that I wouldn't do that."  
"Do I? How much money did you spend last week?"  
"So, I'm good enough to be your casual boyfriend, but not good enough to marry," he said, evading my question.  
"I need to marry someone who shares my values and my long term goals. A man who is going to help me raise our children with those same values and goals. Kids don't need a mixed message."  
"_If you think some other man is going to father your children, you're crazy. I will never let another man touch you_," he said angrily.  
"Okay. This is getting really weird," Hachi said, standing up and grabbing her purse. "I'm getting out of here."  
"Your girlfriend left because you're acting like a sociopath."  
"She's not my girlfriend. _You're_ my girlfriend."  
"You were staring at her the whole time. You couldn't take your eyes off of her."  
"I just can't believe it. I can't believe I dated her. I can't believe I thought I was happy," he said. He seemed stunned.  
"You _really_ don't have naked pictures of her?" I asked skeptically. "She's a model. I _know_ she said yes."  
"You're really not going to marry me?" his voice was distracted as if he was lost in thought.  
"Why are we even having this conversation. We are two very different people with different goals and values, _like I said_. It just wouldn't work."  
He stood up and looked down at me. "I'm going to go buy my socks. _You_ sit here and think about what you mean by long term goals, because my long term goals are to make you happy and have a lovely family together," he said before walking away from the table. After a few steps he turned around and came back to say, "_And our children will be dressed beautifully_."

(One Hour Later)

"Why are you so against the idea of marrying me?" Jomei asked. We were in a little area with benches and trees outside the shopping mall. "It doesn't make sense. We are good together. _I_ feel like we're good together. Why don't you?"  
"You aren't my perfect match in the world, Jomei," I said, feeling upset that I had to explain this again. "You're too different from me."  
"We don't have to be exactly the same for me to be the right person for you," he said. "You're...You make my life so much better because you're always challenging me. Things are never boring. Every moment with you is some weird version of perfect and I love it. _I love you_. And I'm not going to let you go just because you think there might be some perfect guy out there waiting for you. _This _is perfect. _What we have _is perfect."  
My heart was pounding because he'd said that he loved me. It made me feel excited and scared all at the same time. But I couldn't let him sway me that easily. "Just because we're having fun and like to have sex with each other doesn't mean that we should get married. It really isn't that simple. Marriage is something very important, we shouldn't even be talking about it when we're just fooling around together!"  
"That's the difference then," he said. "You may be fooling around, but I'm not. I'm serious. I'm in love with you. I love being with you and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life."  
"That doesn't make sense!" I insisted. "We went into this with a contract! We defined the parameters! You can't just change up the definition of what this is just because you feel like it!"  
"We're humans, Akiko! We make mistakes! Things change! You can't just make a decision and expect things to stay the same. And I made a mistake," he said. He sounded like he might be close to crying. "You're so different from the girls that I used to date and I wanted you so badly from the moment that I first saw you, I thought it was just a strange physical attraction. I thought that I could just fuck you for awhile and get you out of my system, but I was wrong. I've _loved_ you from the first moment that I saw you. I shouldn't have asked you back to my apartment, I should have asked you out on a date. I set us on the wrong path and now you're refusing to get on a different train! I need you to be more flexible, _just this once_!"  
"You're mixing metaphors!" I shouted. "And you're going to have to give me some time or something! I can't just switch gears! We had an agreement! I've been playing by the rules this whole time! You can't tell me that I'm doing something wrong _now_! You're pulling the rug completely out of from under me!"  
"It's okay. I'm sorry for shouting at you," he pulled me into his arms and held me close. "It's okay and we're going to figure this out. I know that we will. I don't want you to get upset or worried or scared. I just want you to try to love me. Just try to look at me in a different way and see if you find what you're looking for. And you'd better find it, because I can't have you breaking my heart. I'll never recover."  
"Okay," I said, pressing my face into his chest. "Okay, I'll try."  
"That makes me so happy," he said, I could hear the smile on his lips. "And just so you know, your father told me my savings account is completely acceptable now that you've been promoted. There's nothing standing in our way."  
"God dammit! Do not talk to my father behind my back!"

(Sunday, January 27)

"Oh, you must be Akiko! It is so good to finally meet you!" Jomei's mother said with a big smile. Jomei had finally convinced me to meet his parents, he'd said it was only fair since he had met my family.  
Jomei's mother, Shino, looked exactly as I had expected her to look. While my own mother looked like a grandmother, Shino was tall and thin with long hair that was permed and colored. She was wearing a pretty dress and matching jewelry. She'd obviously used gallons of lotion of the years, she barely had any wrinkles. She looked like she should be in a homemaking magazine selling frying pans.  
She hugged me. Even though we had just met. Who knows what sort of things Jomei had been telling her about me. His father, Genkei, stepped over with a big smile of his own. It was no wonder that Jomei was always so lighthearted and frivolous, his parents were always smiling. And his father was just as fancied up as Jomei usually was. He was wearing expensive clothes, a scarf _and_ a bracelet.  
We sat in the living room and Genkei said, "So, Akiko. Jomei has told me about the program that the two of you built at work. He said that your coding skills are great and he couldn't have done it without you."  
I nodded and we talked about coding for awhile. Genkei was a lead software developer, he had a lot of interesting things to say about programming, but it was a little strange to talk to him. Compared to my own father, he was weirdly mellow. I couldn't imagine him going red in the face and shouting because Shino or Jomei had done something wrong. He would probably just give them a little reminder and a hug instead.  
Shino had put a tray of appetizers on the coffee table. They looked like perfect little artistic creations. It seemed like a terrible waste of time to bother cutting food into intricate shapes. Maybe she was just bored. She'd only had to raise one child and she didn't have any grandchildren.

"Akiko," Shino said when there was a break in the conversation. "I love that cardigan that you're wearing. It's such a pretty color."  
"Thank you," I said. She was definitely lying. Even Jomei had a funny look on his face because it was so obvious.  
"Oh, Honey!" she cried, as if she had suddenly been struck by an idea. "You should come out shopping with me one weekend! We'll do a makeover, it'll be so much fun!"  
"Forget it, Mom," Jomei said before I had a chance to think up a way to politely decline. "Do not change one hair on this woman's head. I want her to stay exactly as she is. And no giving her clothing or accessories as a gift unless they come from Benjiro's Bargain Basement."  
"Oh yeah," I said with a smile. "That's my favorite store. It's the best."  
"Benjiro's?" Shino shifted and looked around in confusion. "I've seen their ads. They're supposed to have good prices…"  
"That's right," I said. "They're usually impossible to beat."  
Genkei laughed. "To tell the truth, I used to shop at Benjiro's before I met Shino. So I know exactly what you mean."  
I laughed but made a mental note to myself to never let Shino trick me out of going to Benjiro's. Anyone who had the power to get people to spend much more money than necessary had to be taken as a serious threat.  
"Well," Shino smiled and took control of the conversation again. "Jomei tells me that the two of you are talking about getting married. Has there been any progress in that direction?"  
"No," I said and turned to give Jomei a death glare. He tried to hide behind a cup of tea.  
"Ah, well. Feel free to take your time," Shino said. "There's no hurry. But I want you to know that if you do get married, you can move in here with us. We have lots of extra space and Jomei told me how important your career is to you. I can help with the children so that you can continue working."  
I blinked in shock and felt like my heart was stuttering in my chest. This was too far, too fast.  
"Mom," Jomei said in a warning voice. "We shouldn't be talking about this right now."  
"I know. I'm sorry," she said, with that smile that pretty people use because they know everyone will forgive them. "I just want you to know in case it helps you to make a decision, Akiko. We're not far from Ichikiwa Design. If you're so interested in saving money, then living here would be a great decision. But I don't know if your parents will want you to live with them. I'm just letting you know that you can live here _if you want_."

I blinked at her, feeling stunned. Jomei took over the conversation by asking his father about some book that he'd been reading. My heart was thumping in my chest. I'd never even considered what my parents would expect of me after I got married. Marriage was always something in the distant future, it was never something that needed to be thought about. But what if I did marry Jomei? My parents would probably want us to live with them. Their apartment wasn't _too_ far from Ichikiwa Design, although it was certainly a lot further than the Dates' house. My mother would offer to help raise our children, but she was always in a muddle and two steps behind where she needed to be. My father would insist that I quit my job once I had a baby, even if I was a manager now. The realization made me feel a little sick inside.  
I tried to picture Jomei and I in my parents' apartment. My mother would burn the food and my father would yell every time a package was delivered for Jomei. Our children would be a little afraid and a little stressed all the time - just like I had been - and there would be no escaping it. Asas and Hachi would never agree to live with my parents and my father wouldn't make them do it. He would force _me_ to do it. _I_ was the one who was expected to take care of familial obligations, not Asas.  
And if I didn't get married, I would have to move in with them by myself. I would be the old maid. My mother would forever be whining to me because life was so hard for her and my father would yell at me all the time because I'd failed them by not getting married and having children. The idea made me feel claustrophobic.

I followed everyone to the dinner table mutely, thoughts still spinning in my head. If we lived with Jomei's parents, my father couldn't force us to live with them. It would be Asas and Hachi or nothing. I looked at the pretty food in the pretty dishes and imagined a little boy that looked like Jomei sitting at the table. He would be a chatterbox. Shino would make him pancakes shaped like animals. Jomei would carry him around and play with him all the time. And he would be relaxed and happy and all smiles, just like Jomei.  
What was I doing waiting for my perfect match? Someone _just like me?_ That wasn't necessarily a good thing. I was too stressed and intense and angry. I could talk about wanting someone with matching long term goals, but what about day to day life? Jomei would make _me_ happy. He _did _make me happy. Even if we didn't live with his parents, he would smile and laugh with me every day. He would keep me from taking things too seriously.  
I _shouldn't_ be waiting for a male version of myself. I should have been looking for someone like Jomei all this time. Someone who would balance me and make me better than I was without him. Someone who always made me smile.  
I sighed and Jomei leaned close to whisper, "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah," I said, nodding too many times. "Your mom is a great cook. The beef is really good." I moved my hand under the table and put it on his thigh, just needing to touch him. He placed his hand on top of mine and gave it a light squeeze.  
"I know," he said, he bent to drop a kiss on my head, even with his parents sitting at the table. They didn't even react, they just kept eating their food. I looked up at him. He was looking down at me with a smile on his face. There was concern in his eyes, he knew that there was something going on with me, but he wasn't pushing it.  
"It's going to be okay," he said quietly. "There's no pressure or hurry. I just want to make sure that you are happy."

(Tuesday, February 12)

"Do you want me to do that?" Jomei asked worriedly.  
"I'm not going to burn it," I snapped. "You're insulting me."  
I could hear him chuckling quietly behind me. He hadn't yet figured out that I have superhuman hearing. "I really like to cook and I love to cook for you. I have no problem making every meal for us. I know I've send this a hundred times, but you never need to go in the kitchen," he said when he'd finished giggling to himself.  
"I don't want you in my kitchen. You cook in your kitchen and I'll cook in mine."  
"You're so territorial," he said, laughing loudly now. "This is a studio apartment. The kitchen is in the living room is in the bedroom. Maybe we should put some tape on the floor so that I don't cross the boundary into the kitchen. You should probably get some of those alarm sensors in case I decide to sneak in there in the middle of the night."  
I made a growling sound and stirred the vegetables in the pan. Answering him would only encourage his impudent behavior. I changed the subject. "Kanda from IT updated the computers in the warehouse today. He's been working on getting all of the hardware ordered and prepped for our program. He said they're going to start training people in two weeks."  
"Which one is Kanda? The tall one or the new guy with the fanny pack?" His voice was closer. He must have gotten off the couch. I frowned at the food in the pan, the vegetables were starting to singe. I moved them around in the pan faster, saying, "The fanny pack."  
"Did you talk to him about anything else?"  
I dumped a packet of curry sauce onto the vegetables and went back to stirring them. "Yeah, he told me some funny stories from his old job," I guffawed as I recalled the things Kanda had said. "There was this woman in their accounting department-"

Out of nowhere, Jomei grabbed the frying pan out of my hand and slid it away from the heat before turning the burner off with a flick of his wrist. He pushed me back against the wall and stepped in close. "What are you doing?" I demanded with a frown. "You're in my kitchen and in my personal space!"  
"This is _my_ personal space!" he replied, stepping in even closer as if to prove his point by pressing his body against mine, before pushing back and staring angrily into my eyes. "You're mine! Don't laugh for other men! Especially men who wear fanny packs! Or pocket protectors or cargo pants or who don't know how to comb their hair! Or any men who work in IT! Stay away from all of those men!"  
I stared up at him darkly. I had never seen him really angry before, but he had no chance of intimidating me."You can't make demands like that! We're going to reconsider our verbal contract to be boyfriend and girlfriend! I will not accept a boyfriend who tries to tell me what to do! This behavior is unacceptable!"  
"You're right!" He yelled, pushing away from the wall to storm over to my desk and grab paper and a pen. "We're making a new contract, _on paper!_" He sat down at the kitchen table and began scribbling rapidly on the paper as he roared, "Contract for Engagement! Item One: Akiko will wear her engagement ring at all times! Item Two: Akiko will begin every conversation with men by announcing that she is engaged! Item Three: Akiko will not laugh with other men! Item Four: Akiko will not interact with _male nerds_!"  
"Stop writing that! I'm not signing that!" I shouted, trying to snatch the pen from his hand.  
He held the pen away from me, racing it ahead of my hands as I continued to try to grab it. "You are damned well going to sign this! _Tonight!_ And Saturday we are going to go pick out a ring! A really big one that everyone can see from across the room!"  
He put his hand on my chest and pushed me back, holding me away from the table so that he could continue writing. "Item Five: Akiko will _stay out_ of the God damned kitchen!"  
"_I'm not signing that! _Give it to me!" I reached for the paper but he saw my hand coming and whisked it away before I could grab it. He stood up quickly and held the paper and pen above his head where I couldn't reach them.  
"If you don't sign this, I'm going to go to a party for beauty products that Nanami invited me to this Saturday! If I don't have to go buy a ring, my schedule will be _wide open! _I'm going to spend the entire night talking and laughing with women about skincare products and hairspray and perfume! I'm going to spend an insane amount of money on stuff that would cost next to nothing at a convenience store! I'm going to have _five_ drinks!" He was completely out of control!  
"_You will not_!" I jumped at him, grabbing his shirt and pushing him back while I swiped his feet out from under him. He didn't have any siblings, so he had no chance against me. He'd never had to fight over toys or snacks. He immediately lost his balance and we crashed to the floor. Jomei had the wind knocked out of him, leaving him incapacitated, and I crawled up his torso to snatch the balled up piece of paper and pen from his hand.

Jumping up triumphantly, I raced to the kitchen table and dropped into a chair as he lay coughing and gasping for air on the floor. "Jomei will _never_ speak to women about skincare products! Jomei will not smile at other women! Jomei will not _touch_ his hair in sight of another woman! Jomei will stick to a strict monthly clothing and beauty product budget! Jomei will not sext during work hours! Jomei will stop talking to that new guy on Ebihara's team who is _obviously_ gay and _obviously_ flirting. Jomei will not-" as my hand scribbled nearly illegible words across the paper, Jomei snuck up behind me and snatched the paper away.  
"I can agree to that," he said, his voice calm although he was still gasping a little. He walked over to my desk, grabbed a pen and began writing quietly.  
"You'd better not be writing any more rules for me on there," I warned.  
He walked back and handed me the contract. He had added the following items:  
"Jomei is Akiko's one perfect match in the world.  
Jomei will love Akiko forever.  
_Jomei Date, _February 12, 2019"_  
_ He'd also scratched out the word "strict" in the line about the clothing and beauty product budget.  
"I want my ring tomorrow. The women at work need to stop inviting you to parties," I narrowed my eyes at him. "You should get a ring, too. I'm sure you'll enjoy wearing something sparkly."  
"We can do that," he said, pulling me up out of the chair. "Tell me that you love me."  
I frowned up at him. "I love you. But it would be more meaningful if I were to say it without being prompted."  
"I agree," he said. He was trying to look very serious, but his eyes were gleaming and his hair was all mussed. "I love you, Akiko. Tell me to kiss you."  
I shook my head at him. He insisted on doing everything wrong. "Kiss me, Jomei."  
When his mouth touched mine, I could feel the smile on his lips that he'd been trying to hide.


End file.
